Qass 
Book 



BELGIUM: 



IN A PICTURESQUE TOUR. 



By THOMAS ROSCOE, Esq. 

ft 



WITH SIXTEEN HIGHLY-FINISHED ENGRAVINGS, 

FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS, 

By THOMAS ALLOM, Esq. 



" More mighty spots may rise — more glaring- shine, 
But none unite in one attaching maze, 
The brilliant, fair, and soft,— the glories of old days." 

Ohilde Harold. 



LONDON: 

LONGMAN, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, 

APPLETON AND CO., NEW YORK; 
AND FISHER AND CO., PARIS. 

1841. 




) 5" 



LONDON : 

PRINTED BY J. IIADDON, CASTLE STREKT, 
FINSBURY. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



There is perhaps no country in Europe which, from a 
variety of concurrent circumstances, presents so many 
points of interest and attraction as Belgium at the present 
period. Intimately connected with England in regard to 
her history, character, and position, in regard to the pro- 
gress of useful science, and the facilities of communication ; 
the consolidation of her monarchy and free institutions 
under the auspices of a prince deservedly dear, from for- 
mer associations, to the English people, is alone calculated 
to produce a community of feeling, with that respect and 
attachment derived from mutual benefits, which inde- 
pendent and constitutional states never fail to entertain 
towards each other. In no unprophetic strain was it sung 
by our immortal Pope : — 

" The time shall come, when, free as seas or winds, 
Unbounded Thames shall flow for all mankind. 
Whole nations enter with each swelling- tide, 
And seas but join the regions they divide : 
Earth's distant ends our glory shall behold, 
And the new world launch forth to meet the old." 

But there are other and more enduring claims which 
Belgium might fairly prefer upon our gratitude and 



iv 



A D VERTISEMENT. 



affection. She pointed us the way to commercial enter- 
prise • she instructed us in manufacturing skill ; she colo- 
nised our incipient towns with experienced industrious 
artisans; and she sent us colonists of a higher grade — 
her great painters, architects, and sculptors, who raised 
and who adorned royal palaces and noble mansions, while 
her learned men filled our seats of learning, and her musi- 
cians and minstrels made our halls resound, as they con- 
tinue to this day, with the splendid scientific emanations 
of their enchanting art. 

At the same time, it is not Belgium only as she was, 
but as she is, that the writer of the " Picturesque Tour," 
has aimed at describing, — her treasures of art, her splendid 
memorials of loftier times, her grand church and civic ar- 
chitecture, — all of which, from a singular combination of 
circumstances, have excited less attention than they de- 
served ; and are beginning gradually to disappear before 
the new light of a mere utilitarian, monopolising, and 
money-making age. In a word, the work of exploration 
has been commenced, and is going rapidly on ; private 
collections are enriched at the expense of public establish- 
ments, and without some legislative supervision Belgium 
will lose the lustre of her reputation as a treasury of the 
Fine Arts. 

Although preserving the name, the following tour is 
wholly distinct in its views and character from the usual 
class of annuals ; it was the writer's object to render it as 
amusing and instructive as he could, independent of mere 
pictorial illustration, so as to form a standard book of 
travel for the thousand and one visitors continually pass- 
ing through this little Eden of the arts, on their route to 
other countries. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Steam — Boats and Rails — Advantages of, to Belgium and Great Britain — 
Noble and Happy Results — Old Father Thames — Scenery and Sail — Pretty 
Effects — Sensations at Sea — Passengers — Resources to kill Time — Con- 
versation a great Art — Topics general and particular — Safe Conversational 
Rules — Incidents and Examples — Ravages of sea nausea — Discussions on 
Art — Ostend — Modern and Ancient Traits — Sea Bathing — Pavilion Aunts 
and Dowagers — English and Belgian — A good Bargain — Source of delicious 
Reflections — Departure for Bruges . . . . • . 1 

CHAPTER II. 

Half an hour's ride of Four Leagues — Ostend to Bruges — Railroad — Excellent 
Regulations — Appearance of the Country — "West Flanders, high state of 
Cultivation — Neatness and Industry of the People — Bruges — Its Ancient 
Splendor and Celebrity — Flemings of the Middle Ages — Enthusiasm of our 
Friend — Historical Sketch— The Sister Arts — Church of Notre Dame — Ob- 
jects of Art — Rich Ornaments —Carved Pulpit — Statue by Michael Angelo 
— Paintings by Old Flemish Masters, &c. . . . . .14 

CHAPTER III. 

Antique and Modern Bruges — Historians — One-sided Views — Celebrated Men 
— Traditions — Progress in the Arts — Insurance Companies — Extent of 
Commerce — Public Edifices— The Town Hall — Institutions peculiar to 
Belgium — English Writers — Enthusiasm Contagious — Hospital of St. John 
— View from the Ramparts— Objects of Curiosity — Private Collections, &c. 39 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Royal Academy — Pictures of Memling — Other Works of Art — En- 
gravings and Prints — Eminent Engravers — Spirit of Trade and Commerce 
— Old Palace of Justice — Paintings — Conversations — Opinions of an Ama- 
teur—National Traits — La Fontaine — Specimens and Examples — Early 
Flemish Discoveries — First Landscape - Vander Meulcn — Battle-pieces . 59 



vi 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER V. 

Route from Bruges to Ghent — Incidents by the Way — Literary Horrors — 
National Manners — Practical Jests — A Mad Professor — Odd Style of Im- 
provising — Menapian Hams — Roman Gourmands — Pickled Curls and Her- 
rings — Flemish Economists and Dutch — Approach to Ghent — Public 
Works— The Grand Canal, &c. . . . . . .74 



CHAPTER VI. 

Ghent — Civil Government and Institutions — Churches — St. Bevon — Great 
Bell of the Tower — Chimes — Carillons — Beautiful Epitaph — Series of 
Chapels— Works of Art — The Brothers Van Eyck — The Sister — Rubens 
and his Master — Specimens of Sculpture — Collection of Paintings — Aspect 
of Town Halls — Grand Exhibitions — Cbateau des Comtes — Fish Market . 87 



CHAPTER VII. 

Historical Associations and Traditions — The Arteveldes — Biographical Traits 
— Odd Mode of Expiating Crime — Daring Spirit of the Gantois — The 
Brugeois — Era of Charles V. — His Praise of the Belgians — Abdication — 
Monarchs of Mind — Rubens — Vandyke — and their Predecessors — Paintings 
and Drawings — Useful Institutions — Schools — Lectures, &c. . . 109 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Ghent to Malines or Mechlin — Former State — Its High Privileges and Im- 
portance — Men of Science — Other Celebrated Characters — Literature and 
the Arts — The Old Minstrels — Merchant Princes and Rulers : — Specimens 
of Early Poetry — Marguerite of Austria — Traits and Traditions — Work of 
M. Santander — Song of Roland — The Cathedral — Description — Paintings 128 



CHAPTER IX. 

Antwerp — Historical Sketch — Naval and Commercial Fame — Sufferings under 
Philip II. and the Duke of Alva — Memorable Defence — Its City Capitula- 
tion—Treaties, &c. — View of Trade and Commerce — National Customs — 
Interior of St. Paul's Church — Paintings and other Objects of Art — The 
Town Hall— The Citadel— House of Rubens, &c. . . . .151 



CHAPTER X. 

Advantages of Church-hours in Belgium — Cathedral of Notre Dame — West- 
ern Entrance — Opinions of Sir J. Reynolds — Anecdotes and Traits — Lofty 
and Courteous Character of Rubens — The High Altar— Paintings — Favorite 
of Sir J. Reynolds — Pictorial Policy of Napoleon — Principal West Front — 
Works by various Artists — An Extraordinary Genius — Number of Institu- 



CONTENTS. 



vii 



CHAPTER XI. 

Route from Antwerp to Brussels — Associations of a Road — Interesting Re- 
miniscences — Adventures of a Painter Lover— Precautions of his Master — 
New Character of the Scenery — Phenomena of a Splendid Sunset — Situation 
and Advantages of Brussels — Use of a Friend at Court — The Park and the 
Boulevards — Memorials of Battle — A Circuit View of the City — Interior 
— Place d'Anvers — Portes de Namur and de Halle — Hotel de Ville — Palace 
of Justice ......... 196 



CHAPTER XII. 

Origin and Historical Associations — St. Gudule — Charlemagne — Flemish 
Knights — Modern History — Philip II. — Crusade — Association of Des 
Gueux— Regency of Princess Margaret — Historical Sketch — Napoleon — 
St. Gudule — Architecture — Notre Dame — Museum— Public Edifices, &c. . 221 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Residence at Brussels — True and False Fame — The Ducal Library — Public 
Spirit of Napoleon — Albums — Black and Crimson Damask — Annals of 
Love — Dances a, la Mode — Palaces — Chambers — Traits — Parties — Princess „ 
of Orange — Ball Room, &c. — Curiosities ..... 237 



CHAPTER XIV. 

The second Pharsalia — Scenery of the South — Dinant and its Vicinity — 
Historical Facts — Ruins of Bouvignes and Franchimont — Adventures and 
Escapes — Romantic Passion — Traditions of Li6ge — Superstitious Hours — 
Eccentric Characters — Scenery round the Ardennes — Environs of Liege — 
Optical Effects . . . . . . .260 

CHAPTER XV. 

Return to Liege — Church of St. James — Interior — Description of the City — 
Its Antique Fame and Institutions — Warrior Churchmen — Historic Traits 
— Retributive Act — Louvain — Town Hall — Return by Antwerp— Festival 
in Honor of Rubens . . . . . . . 279 



LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 



1. Chapel of St. Gudule, Brussels (Frontispiece). 

2. Tower of La Halle, with Linen-Market (Vignette).* 

3. Palace of Justice, with finely-carved Chimney, Bruges 65 

4. Grand Canal, with antique Hall and Houses, Ghent . 85 

5. Church of St. Bevon (Interior) Ghent .... 89 

6. St, Bevon ; the Beffroi, and Church of St. Nicholas 

seen by Moonlight, Ghent 101 

7. Town-Hall ; with an Insurrection of the People 

against Charles V. Ghent 105 

8. Cathedral and Market-Place, Mechlin . . . 145 
0. Church of St. Paul (Interior) Antwerp . . . 163 

10. West Front of Cathedral of Notre Dame, Ditto . 179 

11. The Chambers of Representatives, with View of the 

Park, Brussels . 209 

12. Church of St. Giidule (Interior) with the celebrated 

carved Pulpit 229 

13. Town of Dinant upon the Meuse .... 261 

14. The Tower of Creve-Cceur on the Meuse . . . 204 

15. Church of St. James (Interior) Liege .... 278 

16. Town-Hall, with Part of the Cathedral, Louvain . 286 

* Page 50, line 7, for " here represented," read " as represented in the Vig- 
nette."" 



A PICTURESQUE TOUR, 



ETC. 



CHAPTER I. 



Steam — Boats and Rails — Advantages of, to Belgium and Great 
Britain — Noble and happy results — Old Father Thames — Scenery 
and sail — Pretty effects — Sensations at sea — Passengers — Resources 
to kill time — Conversation a great art — Topics general and par- 
ticular — Safe Conversational Rules — Incidents and Examples — 
Ravages of sea nausea — Discussions on Art — Ostend— Modern and 
Ancient Traits — Sea Bathing — Pavilion Aunts and Dowagers — 
English and Belgian — A good Bargain — Source of delicious 
Reflections — Departure for Bruges. 

Steam boats and iron railways, those grand incen- 
tives to modern travel, are peculiarly so in regard 
to Belgium — our favorite British highway for the 
continent. It is no longer, in the words of the face- 
tious author of Hudibras, 

cc What perils do environ 
The man who meddles with cold iron V 
B 



2 



MODERN AGES. 



which the more you now choose to meddle with, the 
sooner you are enabled to bid good bye to your 
enemies and arrive at your new place of destina- 
tion. But what poet could have dreamed of an age 
of iron (the true golden age too) so glorious as ours, 
spreading its wings of steam far over sea and land ; 
and in a few hours bringing countries the most remote 
within our familiar view ? To cross the ocean, to tra- 
verse the Low countries, to be far on your route up the 
Rhine or the Danube, is not as formerly the work of 
days and weeks; and it is pleasant to reflect that you 
can dine with a friend at Brussels, and arrive in time 
to breakfast and transact your business next day in 
London. " The Earl of Liverpool, Captain Lomax, 
Ostend !" a fine May morning, and old Father 
Thames looking at once serene and animated, like 
a good man of business, at his desk, — for he never 
appeared to us more occupied, — are almost in them- 
selves a temptation to take a trip. Assuredly he 
never saw so sprightly a race before ; whether " on 
earnest business bent," or " plying the paths of 
pleasure," for there is something in the rapidity of 
transit, which of itself excites a desire of locomo- 
tion, even in the most tranquil and home-loving 
breasts. 

After a scene of good humored bustle, un- 
equalled, perhaps, in any part of the world, you 
begin to breathe the pure air of the glorious sea ; 
you seem to shake off the dust of a whole age, and 
of a whole metropolis. Even the fancy, like the 



HOW WE ARE GETTING ON ! 3 

eyes, seems to be more awake ; the ever varying 
scenes, new ideas of trade and commerce, of 
rapidity of communication, already producing a sort 
of freemasonry of thought and language, fraterniz- 
ing the most inveterate enemies, and preparing our 
children for a higher citizenship of the world, 
glance like pleasant sunbeams across the mind. 
If it augur well for the peace and prosperity of 
nations, our steam- winged commerce is of no less 
advantage in the dispatch of business and sordid 
cares of every kind within half the old time ; 
— new sources of information, and consequently of 
more refined pleasures, are opened up ; while igno- 
rance, that fruitful cause of strife and discord, 
which clung like the poisoned tunic of Hercules 
to every people and turned their strength to 
madness, is fast disappearing before the light of 
a better day. 

Ingenious and enterprising Belgium, with the 
dispatch of science, has happily superseded the 
dispatches of war ; utilitarian doctrines have 
usurped the place of national animosities ; the 
goddess of Reason, falsely so called, has every- 
where abdicated her throne to her legitimate 
sister Temperance, who alone issues her war 
manifestoes against " Comus and his midnight 
crew," with increased energy, and with marshalled 
hosts of teatotalers, who threaten to establish new 
customs, and cut off the old excise. 

Our Thames scenery — a perfect study for the 
b 2 



4 



OLD RIVER SCENERY. 



artist — alwa} 7 s presents something picturesque in the 
diversified forms and colors of its passing sail ; 
" its margins green/' its gentle undulations and 
eminences, old national edifices, marts of com- 
merce, pleasantly interspersed with villas or 
monumental relics, calculated to awaken observa- 
tion in the most indifferent mind. All these seen 
in clear sunny weather, under a thousand varying 
lights and shades, form a pleasing contrast with the 
forest of shipping, white sails in the distance, the 
rapid dash of steamers, the rolling and dipping of 
the lordly yachts, the stern visage of the man of 
war, the painted Indiaman, the frigate, the busy 
brig, and more numerous merchantmen, with every 
stitch of sail on, bound for the land of cargoes, as 
if the demon of avarice himself had launched them 
with resistless hand upon the mighty deep. A 
still greater variety of small craft, clown to the black 
colliers, flats, wherries, and boats without number, 
will give you the complete picture of a commercial 
river, such as is nowhere else to be seen. 

It is a delightful sensation when you first gain 
the open sea — the quickening breeze, the expanding 
waters, the far grand view, with the play of the sun 
light, and the reflection of the skies on the billowy 
tracts— all tend to produce a degree of exhilaration 
which is seldom or never experienced when upon 
land. 

But this is not so with all : I was a happy ex- 
ception to the general rule, and the nearer we 



HOW TO AVOID ENNUI TO OSTEND ! 



•5 



approached our destination, the more inspiring was 
the sea air, till it soon made me cast many a wish- 
fid glance at our preparations a la fourchette. The 
passengers were that day few, and for the most part 
ladies. There were two Frenchmen, three Belgians, 
and four English ; yet, few as we were, within five 
hours after putting on steam, at 11 a. m., it was 
serious to observe the gaps which began to appear 
in our little circle. Ladies and children usually 
undergo the severest ordeal — it was the bathing sea- 
son at Ostend — and the passage is often an excellent 
seasoning indeed for those who can bear it, and 
quite sufficient to remember till their return. We 
sat down, however, a fair and goodly company, at 
3 p. m. to an excellent repast, and tried to banish 
all uneasy feelings by discussing the subjects before 
us, in a good humored vein, mixed with all the pretty 
persiflage and scandal of English borough towns — 
little court anecdotes of Paris and Brussels, a few 
national jests and sallies, which it is fortunate, per- 
haps, there were no ladies from Holland to criticise, 
— in particular when we touched upon the attractions 
of the Belgian queen, her benevolence, her presents 
to public institutions, the frank unaffected conduct 
and the tact* of her royal consort. We wish we 
could say as much for that of all the ladies on this 
occasion ; but the utterance of a single innocent 



* " II a du tact, le Roi/' is a favorite expression with most Belgians 
of the loyal caste. 



6 NEW CONVERSATIONAL DOCTRINE. 



bitise is frequently sufficient to destroy the pleasure 
of an entire company. In mixed parties, indeed, 
it is invariably most wise and appropriate to confine 
our remarks to small-talk, as it has been aptly 
termed ; or to treat of matters generally interest- 
ing — science, arts, and arms, of heroes and princes 
in the true epic style, and of personages out of the 
probable sphere of those present. We should then 
run no risk either of inflicting or of suffering the 
slightest annoyance in the course of conversation. 

Good sense and correct feeling — qualities unfor- 
tunately more rare than popular, naturally dictate 
the observance of such social rules ; the more im- 
portant as ladies may venture upon a certain lati- 
tude of expression, not tolerated in the rougher sex, 
without fear of its being followed by very fatal 
results. 

From the topic of courts and fashions, the open 
and generous conduct of king Leopold, the peaceful 
national labors of Louis Philip, we had ap- 
proached the hero of a hundred fights — the arbiter 
of Europe, the conqueror of Waterloo^ we had even 
elevated our ideas to the standard of Belgian inde- 
pendence, in the description of which a young ad- 
vocate, the son of general M., took a lively part. He 
had been one of the foremost in the movement; and 
it was precisely his character that one of the ladies, 
committing une grande betise, fixed upon to cri- 
ticise in one or two rather uncomplimentary terms, 
wholly unconscious of the presence of that general's 



KNIGHTS OF DISORDER ; INVISIBLE LADIES, ETC. 7 

son. At the first mention of the name, I observed 
that some one rose and went upon deck ; a French 
gentleman who happened to be near me stated to 
me the circumstances, and I had scarcely sat two 
minutes, when the same party resumed their obser- 
vations in a spirit which rendered it incumbent 
upon the writer either to follow the example of 
the young Belgian, or to recommend to the notice 
of the fair that conversational doctrine of so much 
value in mixed parties. He did rather more; he 
took on himself, against a powerful diversion of 
voices, to support the reputation of the general 
and his party, without much detriment to his own 
position and line of defence. 

Though not so unsoldierlike as to wish for an 
ally in a rougher sea, nor, he hopes, so ungallant, it 
nevertheless came to his aid, silenced the enemy's 
best guns, and picked them off, in the military 
phrase, one by one. Our seats becoming " few and 
far between," we kept continually closing ranks like 
a regiment under a sharp fire ; — it had been a fine 
May morning, but it was a very November afternoon, 
and we were soon made sensible that we had got 
into the open sea. Not a lady was to be seen, and 
the gentlemen whom the young advocate now 
humorously designated as our " Knights Hospi- 
talliers," betook themselves each to his own little 
hospital (his berth), or were dimly seen through 
the twilight hanging (no inappropriate term) in 
agony over the vessel's side. The young count and 



8 A PLEASANT COMPANION ; GREEK BADENAGE. 

myself still stood our ground ; and the captain as he 
passed us, once observed, " Were I an admiral, sir, 
I would make you post captain, if you do not soon 
take your turn." " It will be sure to come," cried 
the count, at the same time exclaiming in the mock 
heroic of the old blind bard ; — Ov yap sywye, &C. 
— thus popularly paraphrased by some Irish sub- 
altern of the great Mr. Pope, in words more plain 
than classic or refined : — 

" Strong though he be, and like a Trojan sup, 
The roaring main will bring his dinner up." 

" No, no !" I exclaimed, " I defy you to place me 
upon the sick list ; not that I triumph in beholding 
so many fallen around me, while the same elements 
that thus afflict weaker natures disturb not the 
equilibrium of the favored few." But how long 
we might retain that equilibrium and our advanced 
positions upon deck, was a question yet to be solved 
by time. 

Philosophy, however, never more divine than in 
a small circle of sound heads at sea, with wit and 
generous wine to celebrate each other's prowess ; 
with a strain of poetry (I was quoting for the young 
Belgian, Dryden's famous lines to Sir Godfrey 
Kneller), a dash of literature, and the arts came 
pleasingly to our relief. In all these, the young 
Belgian showed himself a critic of no common 



CRITICISM ON ART A BELGIAN AMATEUR. 9 

order, occasionally improvising for us with con- 
siderable dexterity, till we became so happy in 
each other's society, that we agreed to pursue 
our route together along the Meuse, and to the 
banks of the Rhine. 

Though not a professed critic, the count, like our 
excellent friend M. Passevans, knew a good picture 
when he saw it ; he was well versed in the distinc- 
tive features of the schools, from the old Greek 
down to the modern Dutch and Esquimaux. He 
had the art of drawing happy parallels ; he at once 
seized the resemblances and differences in each ; he 
compared the Italian and the Flemish, contrasted 
them with the French, the Dutch, and the English ; 
and then attempted to show how far their peculiar 
manners had been maintained during their pro- 
gress, and by the moderns. He considered the old 
Flemish as coeval with the best Italian models, 
" though I regret" he added, " that the great histo- 
rian Lanzi should not give us credit for an entire 
national originality." 

" Impossible !" I replied, " it was not his object 
to raise your school into a rivalship with happy 
Italy." 

" Assuredly not," replied the count ; " but what I 
contend for is that Flemish painting may lay claim 
to a twin-sisterhood with Italy herself, in the revival 
of the arts. It is strange that so few foreigners 
should have done us justice ; yet look at that best 
criterion of relative excellence — price ; and mark 



10 



A DIFFICULT POINT TO SOLVE. 



in what estimation our pictures and prints are held." 
" I fear that you will never convince me," said I, 
eager to bring the young advocate into play, " that 
your old Flemish school, excellent as it is, does not 
owe its best features — all that is most beautiful and 
noble — to its having been grafted upon the Italian ; 
not to its native strength and originality. What 
does Lanzi say ? does he not allude to it as to a 
child coming to its first school ? the school of 
Itaty and of the world." 

" Certainly not," was the young Belgian's reply, 
(reddening up a little,) " I mean in the general 
sense, that in which we should take the whole 
bearing of the historian's words. They will not 
countenance so strong an interpretation as you put 
upon them ; and I will convince you of it upon 
our arrival at Brussels. There, and before we 
reach that capital, I will show by different col- 
lections, as well public as private, that I have not 
been making use of idle boasts ; that our old Flemish 
school is native — not adopted — and partook in the 
same glorious light which Greece shed upon Italy; 
that our actual modern school is not incapable of 
supporting its reputation ; that its works are already 
sought by the amateurs and collectors of other 
nations ; that they will not shrink from a com- 
parison with those of any modern people in 
existence." 

No one could listen to the young Belgian ; his 
strong love of nationality, his enthusiasm for art, 



NIGHT VIEW OF OSTEND. 



11 



his reverence for the beautiful and the great, with- 
out a sentiment of respect. As he paused, he 
directed my attention to the ramparts and spires 
of Ostend, seen through the clear moonlight as we 
entered the breakwater. The vast dyke, the old 
canal of Bruges, the pavilion of the baths, rose from 
amidst the ruins of the once thronged and bustling 
port, now silent and melancholy as a desert. Its 
commerce like the hostile troops which beleaguered 
its walls had disappeared ; the foot of the stranger 
had succeeded the fiery track of war; on its esplanade 
or in its streets nothing more formidable is now to 
be seen than maiden aunts or cousins ; bevies of 
nursing maids with their little charges ; staid dames 
and dowagers arrayed in their native stuffs or silks, 
engaged in making bargains with the bathing 
women for dipping their young people, so many by 
the dozen ; putting in the children at half price, 
and ensuring a succession of dips for themselves 
and their friends, during the entire season ; and 
when fourteen for the dozen is obtained, it will 
usually furnish a topic of congratulation and 
triumph for the rest of the evening. 

The sea-beaten aspect of Ostend, the facade of 
the pavilion, the Place d'Armes, themonumental 
ruins, the wide spreading sea from the encircling 
ramparts at once picturesque and wild, even the 
reading rooms and hotels, theatre and estaminets, 
are all insufficient to rescue it from a monotony 
and dulness which make the stranger anxious to 



12 HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS AND TRAITS. 



proceed ; for it is only four leagues from Bruges, 
and twenty-two from Brussels. Not a few his- 
torical associations attach to the city which has 
rather an antique and old-fashioned appearance — 
the ecluses were erected as early as 1660, and the 
port may be considered a handsome monument of 
the emperor Joseph II. 

The coast of Ostend presents one continued line ; 
the approach is difficult, and vessels pass the two 
jetties by so narrow an opening that they can only 
enter at flood tide, and the attempt is dangerous 
with a strong contrary wind. 

For a considerable period Ostend, now chiefly cele- 
brated for its fine oysters, was a place of considerable 
importance. In 1583 it was strongly fortified by the 
prince of Orange ; it sustained a long siege by the 
archduke Albert upwards of three years, in which 
the Infanta Isabella of Spain, was made to appear 
arrayed, though a mere child, in a rich cuirass, 
to astound her enemies. In 1604 the town was 
captured by the Spanish general Spinola, though 
not till it had been reduced to extremity, and lost 
upwards of 30,000 by sword and famine. As a 
proof of deadly execution, it is mentioned that 
the enemy fired no less than 150,000 coups de 
canon — a singular calculation, which shows they 
must have made rather a strong impression. 

It is also curious that one of the first trading 
companies to India, should have been established 
as early as the reign of Charles VI. at Ostend, but 



ROSE D'ANGLETERRE ; BRUGES. 



13 



the extreme jealousy of the Dutch and English 
prevailed with the court of Vienna ; its charter 
was revoked in 1731, and the next year, we are 
told, that upwards of 2,800 persons among the most 
enterprising and industrious citizens left their native 
city, then rich and flourishing, for some freer ports. 

We reached Ostend, with the tide, at half past 
two in the morning, after a fifteen hours' sail, quite 
long enough to weary out the most robust or 
philosophical temperament. Having committed 
our luggage to the douaniers,— that pestiferous 
class ail over the world, I declined the services of 
31. Le Commissionaire, lacquied by a host of porters, 
and proceeded in a voiture with my Belgian 
escort to the Rose d' Angleterre ; — a very attractive 
name just now for loyal English passengers ; and 
in point of neatness and attention, and an excellent 
breakfast, we found it worthy of its pretty name 
and its reputation. Instead of retiring to repose, 
like other passengers, in a state of perfect exhaus- 
tion, we made excellent use of our fourchettes ; 
sent for our luggage from the custom-house, and a 
little after six were seated in one of those spacious 
and richly furnished carriages, resembling a soft 
and elegant boudoir, compared with the old clumsy 
diligences, — and proceeding, about twenty-five 
miles an hour, upon our road to Bruges. 



CHAPTER II. 



Half an hour's ride — Ostend to Bruges — Railroad — Excellent regula- 
tions — Appearance of the country — West Flanders, high state of 
cultivation — Neatness and industry of the people — Bruges — Its 
ancient splendor and celebrity — Flemings of the Middle Ages — 
Enthusiasm of our friend — Historical sketch — The sister arts — 
Church of Notre Dame — Objects of art — Rich ornaments — Carved 
pulpit — Statue by Michael Angelo — Paintings by old Flemish Mas- 
ters, &c 

The old canal and its passage boats may now 
almost be said to form part of the antiquities of 
Bruges. A new era of steam has given the Belgian 
movement increased energy and activity ; the regu- 
lations of the roads, in the hands of the government, 
are excellent. At once simple and comprehensive, 
no confusion occurs, accidents are exceedingly rare, 
the charge of conveyance is low, less than half that 
in England, and if not quite so rapid, the transit 
is for most purposes sufficiently expeditious. We 
had just half an hour's ride of it to Bruges. 



PLEASANT CHANGE OF SCENE. 



15 



The aspect of the country through which the 
railway passes, like that of West Flanders in gene- 
ral, along the line of coasts, is perfectly flat, and 
comparatively wild and sterile. We passed con- 
siderable tracts of pasture, which, impregnated 
with the atmosphere and salt of the sea, are pecu- 
liarly fitted for grazing, increasing the excellence 
and flavour of every kind of animal food. I 
observed also numbers of young horses, and farther 
on our way sheep and herds of kine, the latter of 
which, however, were small, and the former not to 
be placed in comparison, as regards size or condi- 
tion, with the same kind in England. 

The process of draining did not appear to have 
been applied, as it might have been, with advantage 
to the pasture soils ; but this may also be remarked 
of the best cultivated districts in Scotland, and 
even of grazing lands in Great Britain. It is these 
and the wild tracts of peat or moss on the southern 
borders and round Verviers, which form the only 
drawback upon the highly rich and cultivated ap- 
pearance of the Belgian soil ; and this want of 
cultivation is more apparent than real ; undoubtedly 
they are best adapted to the purposes to which they 
are applied, and could not without an immense 
outlay be brought under the same system of 
artificial cultivation, which renders Flanders, in 
itself a country of wild and sterile sands, one 
perfect garden — a comparative paradise of blooms 
and fruit, the more prized and valuable for its not 



16 PROGRESS THROUGH WEST FLANDERS. 



being like Italy — mere spontaneous wealth and 
abundance, to tempt the avarice, and become the 
spoil of the stranger. 

As we proceeded, however, my young friend 
pointed out to me the gradual changes which began 
to be seen in the numerous farm houses and 
country seats, and some ancient castellated resi- 
dences, which marked our approach to Bruges. 
Among others which we saw were those of his 
friend the governor, and the statesman Mulinaere, 
of M. Potter, and of several members of the 
Senate, or the Hall of Representatives, more or less 
distinguished for their active patriotic characters. 
The appearance of rural prosperity, the result of 
assiduous neatness, and a kind of incessant study 
and attention, which embowers the garden in 
perennial bloom and beauty, and gives to each 
little cottage-ground and farm fresh plenty and 
abundance, became on all sides more manifest ; 
there was an increasing population, greater cheer- 
fulness, a more Flemish costume and national 
manners ; and I noticed that they began also to 
resemble the Germans in their extreme fondness 
for music. We saw several rustic parties escorting 
some itinerant musicians, and singing the French 
vaudevilles, or the favorite songs of their modern 
poets, with productions also of native talent, which 
my intelligent companion informed me contained 
some sly hits at the priests, as well as the Dutch, 
and without sparing even the policy of the allies. 



NATIONAL MUSICAL TRAITS. 



17 



" There are innumerable national hymns," he 
added, " of the patriotic kind, peculiar to every 
town which took part — and which did not? — in the 
spontaneous rise of Belgium. Loot at that young- 
violinist there — he is one of the wounded patriots ; 
he has got an ear though he has lost a leg ; and 
that harpist is his sister, who follows him every- 
where. I know the air, and I will endeavour to 
repeat the words for you, that you may transfer 
them into the best English you can." 

ON THE DUTCH MANIFESTO OF WAR. 

And can it be ? that he, the wise, 

Taught in misfortune's bitterest school, 
Dare tempt the vengeance of the skies ; 

And strike the brave — our tyrant's tool ? 
The blow is struck ; the past is fled ! 

No more with Nassau's heirs we treat ; 
The heart of Orange might has bled, 

Watering the tree of Freedom's seat. 

To you, your country's proudest boast ! 

I pledge you in these burning tears ; 
Your patriot souls are never lost 

To us, — though not a name appears. 
Sleep, martyrs, sleep, beneath the shade 

Of your own free and father land ; 
The monument yourselves have made, — 

Your fame to every distant strand. 

These lines were pronounced in the original with 
a fervor and rapidity which astonished me ; fire 
sparkled in the eyes of the speaker ; he seemed like 
one of Collins' Passions, " transported, wrapt, in- 

c 



18 



THE SANGUINE TEMPERAMENT. 



spired;" and much in the predicament of the man 
in another song with the steam leg, who having 
once set off, ran in spite of himself, and called -in 
vain for somebody to stop him. 

In point of temperament, indeed, most Belgians 
of high mind, sound education, and general ac- 
complishments, bear considerable resemblance to 
the French, both in their action and mode of 
expression ; and you cannot live wholly in their 
society without imbibing something of the same 
vivacity of manner and even energy of movement. 
In alluding to this fact, and to the pleasure which 
I derived from the contrast, my friend endeavoured 
to account for it on a philosophical principle, which 
he said had been beautifully explained by the poet 
Delille, showing the advantages of the social and 
ardent disposition over the calculating and phleg- 
matic ; and the more pleasurable impressions re- 
ceived from external objects, and from the arts, by 
minds attuned to a finer sense. 

" Malheur aux esprits durs, malheur aux ames vaines 
Qui dedaignent les arts, au temps de leur faveur ! 
Les beaux arts a leur tour, dans les temps du malheur, 
Les livrent sans ressource a leur vile infortune. 
Mais avec leurs amis ils font prison commune, 
Les suivent dans les champs, et payant leur amour 
Consolent leur exile, et chantent leur retour." 

" If this sentiment be true, it will be found more 
peculiarly so with regard to the art of music, — and 



OLD FLEMISH MUSIC AND MUSICIANS. 19 

of Flemish music, which Guicciardini admits was 
carried to so high a degree of perfection. Author- 
ities concur in representing the Belgians as the 
restorers of the lost and degraded arts to Europe in 
the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. So early as 
the tenth flourished the monk of St. Amand, 
Hucbald, who invented a system of notation, and 
introduced the uninterrupted succession of sounds 
composed of four voices, — of quintes on one part, and 
of octaves on the other. Then of Bruges, all the con- 
temporary accounts as early as 1348, show that the 
city at that early period, was in possession of differ- 
ent schools ; and a variety of monuments and names 
of streets continue to attest the triumph of an art not 
till afterwards introduced among the Germans. Our 
Jean le Chartreux was one of its best theoretical bene- 
factors of the fourteenth century. He taught and he 
wrote upon the art : one of his works is in the Bri- 
tish Museum, another in the Vatican, and both are 
valuable as appertaining to a period of which so little 
has survived respecting the state of the art. They 
form the best history of its progress during the 
middle ages, and all writers on the art particularly 
refer to the new notation introduced by the monk 
of St. Amand. His works date about the year 
1380. 

<c Towards the middle of the fifteenth century, 
among the men of all professions, who, from their 
high reputation at home, were invited to exercise 
their arts in other countries — France, England, Ger- 

c 2 



20 



CELEBRATED COMPOSERS. 



many, and Italy, the masters of this enchanting art 
were inferior to no other: — a Belgian, Ockeghem, 
was the first director of the chapel of Charles VII., 
and the master of a succession of celebrated pupils. 
He was also chaplain to Louis XL, and treasurer of 
the Abbey of St. Martin, at Tours. Bavay, in Hain- 
ault, had the honour of giving birth, in 1440, to 
this extraordinary genius, and all his contempor- 
aries speak of him with admiration. Jean Tinctor 
founded a school of music at Naples ; was director 
of the chapel of king Ferdinand ; he was visited by 
the amateurs of every nation, and his example led 
to the establishment of numerous other professors 
at Rome, Milan, and other places. In the Pontifi- 
cal chapel are preserved many of his compositions, 
particularly of masses, and a didactic work upon 
the art, which in those times must, with his splendid 
talent and example, have exercised the greatest in- 
fluence. He wrote also on the theory of the proportions 
of the musical notation, introduced in the fourteenth 
century ; and with indefatigable industry he com- 
piled the first musical dictionary known. This 
interesting work was published in 1460, under 
the title of " Definitorum Terminorum Musicce" 
&c. 

"From this great master's school sprung Josquin 
des Prez, allowed to be the greatest musician of his 
age; called by the historian Burney, a giant; by 
another, Princeps Musicorum; and, in the opinion of 
Zarlino, a man who held the highest rank in his 



TESTIMONIALS OF MERIT. 



21 



profession during his entire life. Other countries 
dispute the honor of having given birth to this 
extraordinary genius ; but Lacroix, Du Maine, 
Duverdier, and Ronsard, in a Preface to his "Recueil 
de Chansons aplusieurs parties" addressed to Charles 
IX., sufficiently vindicate our Belgian claims. 

" Next comes the noble Adrien Willaert (1525 to 
1560) — called by the Italians themselves il divino — 
director of the chapel of St. Mark, and founder of a 
school at Venice, which soon filled distant cities 
with professors and masters, who spread the fame 
and works of their great Flemish prototype. His 
pupil Zarlino and all contemporary writers agree 
in conferring upon him the crown of genius ; his 
example fired the imagination of others, and he 
was followed by Roland de Lassus, and Philip de 
Mons, whose popular character and multiplied edi- 
tions of works evinced the splendor of their talents. 

" These and other natives of Flanders became the 
founders of foreign schools, which long continued 
to flourish. Cyprien Rore, born at Malines, 1516, 
formed a new school at Parma, which filled that 
part of Italy with a succession of distinguished 
composers and performers in every branch of the 
art. He also won the appellation of il divino 
Cipriano de Rore, while Roland de Lassus, whose 
works were stupendous, equalled only by his genius, 
received from the hands of Maximilian the II. 
letters patent of nobility. 

" In 1547, Waelrant, and some say also Anselme de 



22 



MODERN ILLUSTRIOUS EXAMPLES. 



Flandre, proposed to substitute seven other syllables 
for the gamut of six notes; and it was a Belgian who, 
long after Gui d'Arezzo, added a seventh to the 
six notes adopted before. Fifty years afterwards 
Van de Putte attempted the same in Italy. Henry 
Dumont, born at Liege, 1610, was the first who in 
France introduced the continued or runuing bass 
into his noblest works. 

"Who, in modern times, does not recall with 
delight the touching, yet skilful compositions of 
Gretry, and of Gossec, who with Mehul formed that 
section of the French Institute consecrated to ' La 
Belle Musique?' I should not yet have done, were 
I not afraid to weary you only with the list ; there 
is our Mees, born at Brussels, 1760, who became 
the admiration of Poland itself, so celebrated for 
musical genius ; and on his death in 1820 every 
class of people united in doing honor to his 
obsequies, including the grand duke Constantine; 
for music like his had a charm to soothe, if not 
civilize, the sternest and most savage mind. We 
had also the misfortune to lose our Pauwels, of 
Brussels, when only in his twenty-fifth year, — a 
genius who combined all the science and studied 
composition of Mozart and Haydn, with the 
graceful sweetness of Cimarosa, Paesiello, and 
Paer. 

"The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries equally 
abound in bright examples honourable to our 
country. You should hear the compositions of 



BERIOT AND HIS YOUNG PHENOMENON. 23 

Jean Noel Hamal, of Liege, who struck out a new 
path with success, which astonished the most ex- 
perienced connoisseurs, rising above rules to give 
additional strength and beauty to the art; and if 
you listen to the execution of Beriot, admit that in 
the history of contemporary genius there is little 
that will bear a comparison with his. His little 
pupil, Vieuxtemps, yet scarcely eleven years old, 
surpasses all that we have before heard of in the 
precocious wonders of the art. It almost startles 
one to hear him play ; to think how such masterly 
precision, such vigor, such finish, boldness, and 
passionate expression, should spring from the soul 
and hand of a mere infant. Lately, too, we have to 
congratulate ourselves that Joseph Fetis, born at 
Mons, is come to reside among us : besides his 
other compositions he has the merit of having com- 
menced the only complete biography which the 
musical world possesses. The extensive knowledge 
and varied talents already displayed in this work, 
promise to confer high advantages upon the art, 
especially as regards those numerous societies, — 
musical, poetical, and literary ; and our evening 
concerts, and even estaminets, which nowhere 
abound more than in Belgium. And these are not, 
as among other people, mere matter of private 
arrangement to beguile ennui, but really popular 
institutions springing from the heart and spirit of 
the nation, deeply rooted in every little village 
and hamlet, which can boast their own societies of 



24 



CHARACTER OF THE VICINITY. 



art — poets, painters, and musicians above all, 
capable of executing the most difficult pieces, and 
each, ' emula delle trombe, empie le selve,' .in 
generous emulation with its musical neighbour. 

"But look at those blooming orchards and gardens 
which with their pretty castellated residences, 
succeeding the cottages and farms we have already 
passed, betoken our approach to Bruges. It is the 
triumph of art and industry over a niggard soil ; 
how much happier for us than the natural paradise 
which in vain teems with loveliness and plenty, to 
court the sickly appetites of the tyrant and his 
slaves. We are not doomed to behold our harvests, 
raised from an artificial soil, and the result of 
enterprise and labor of years, swell the store- 
houses of needy lords, or become the spoil of a 
foreign foe. No ! not a heart among us but would 
rather fight the battle over again, even though le 
bon T>leu is impiously said to be toujours pour les 
gros bataillons, as we too frequently experienced 
from the Spaniard and the Austrian in other 
times." 

" But a truce to other times," I exclaimed ; " see 
you not the beams of yon effulgent sun richly 
gilding the old towers of Bruges, and here and 
there reflecting a flood of light in those Gothic 
windows, and golden fanes, with their grand 
wrought casements ? Heavens ! what a splendid 
effect — those are palace towers indeed ! Your 
Belgian temples, if all like that, may well be called 



ARCHITECTURE OF THE MIDDLE AGES. 



25 



the giants of the middle ages. With what bold relief 
yon eagle summit seems to rise above its subject 
towers, as if to lose itself in that deep blue sky— 
and how fine the contrast ! " 

" That is the Clocher de Notre Dame de Bruges, 
or belfry of our Lady, which yields to few in Flan- 
ders. It is seen far off at sea, and serves as a 
pharos for the vessels coming into the port of 
Ostend. You will not be disappointed as in Italy 
with the character of our urban architecture, or the 
beauty of our suburban villas. It is not I, it is his- 
tory that says it ; read and look, and you will find 
our Flemish architecture of the middle ages, public 
and domestic, the most picturesque, if not the 
noblest in Europe. M. de ReifFenberg* justly 
remarks, tbat its magnificent monuments are sym- 
bolical of the national character ; that those splen- 
did temples, rich town halls, aspiring belfries, and 
spacious saloons of every kind were only the reali- 
zation of the two grand ideas that ruled society, — 
religion and civil polity. Two of the most celebra- 
ted abbeys in France were rebuilt in the twelfth 
century under the direction of Belgian ecclesiastics. 
St. Genevieve at Paris, was planned by Stephen de 
Tournay, and St. Denis was the work of Suger de 

* To those curious to learn more of Belgian architects, and the 
dates of the noblest remaining' monuments, we may point out an ex- 
cellent work, entitled, " Essai sur la Statistique Ancienne de la Bel- 
gique." 



26 GREAT ARTISTS — DISCOVERIES. 

Saint-Omer. At the same period Hucbald, of 
Liege, was distinguished throughout Europe by the 
genius and grandeur of his designs, as well as his 
masterly execution. It is admitted by Hallam, in 
his excellent work on the Middle Ages, that the art 
of building with bricks, lost in England from the 
time of the Romans, was at length restored by the 
discovery of a Flemish artisan. It was long before 
the convenience of chimnies was devised, simple as 
the discovery now appears, the generality of writers 
making mention of them as posterior only to the 
thirteenth century. To Belgium the merit of 
having originated this domestic luxury (in cases 
where they do not smoke) is chiefly due ; and from 
Flanders it is known to have extended to the 
adjoining countries. In 1834, on occasion of taking 
down a wall in the chateau of the counts at Ghent, 
the workmen found a long flue communicating 
with the open air ; and in the ruins of that of 
Biersel, near Brussels, built in the twelfth century, 
there was discovered an open chimney in the grand 
hall, and another in the kitchen, but only these two. 

" In the year 1422, Appelmans, assisted by Ame- 
lius, commenced the tower of the grand cathedral 
at Antwerp, ascertained to be one of the loftiest 
known. It has only twenty-six metres less than 
the highest point of the Egyptian pyramids. About 
the middle of the fifteenth century, Jean Ruysbroeck 
constructed the tower of the Hotel de Ville, at 
Brussels, 364 feet high — a work which we shall more 



PRACTICAL AND SUCCESSFUL MEN. 



27 



particularly describe hereafter, and which has been 
emphatically termed, from its severe and studied 
labor, " the despair of future architects." 

" Erasmus Quellyn was another of those great men 
who, like Michael Angelo, at once painter and 
architect, acquired a European reputation destined 
long to endure. Frangois Romain, of Ghent, was 
invited by Louis XIV. into France to take on him- 
self the direction of public works. He constructed 
the Pont Royal, and overcame all those natural ob- 
stacles considered before insurmountable, and which 
gave to his triumphant labors the reputation of 
a miracle. Nor ought it to be forgotten, that in 
the year 1566, the Royal Exchange of London was 
erected from plans made by the famous Passchen, of 
Antwerp, — a magnificent work, but which was de- 
stroyed in the great fire of 1666. Another 
Fleming, Pierre de Wit, constructed the electoral 
palace at Munich, not surpassed by the noblest in 
Europe ; but such is the throng of brilliant talent 
that we can barely afford an allusion to some of our 
great masters — the founders or revivers of this 
magnificent art. How Flemish genius continued 
to flourish and adorn the latter part of the eigh- 
teenth century, may be seen in the admirable work 
of M. le Compte de Becdelievre, who particularly 
mentions the name of De Wez, the great restorer of 
the art in Belgium, and also in France, after it had 
fallen into considerable decay. 

"Thus Flanders was not only like Italy, the cradle 



28 INTERIOR OF NOTRE DAME. 

of the arts — it had the honor of reviving them ; 
while our rulers, the Comtes Grands Forestiers, 
dukes of Burgundy and Brabant, were, not always 
like the princes of other countries, magnificent pro- 
moters of the art. The noble edifices we now be- 
hold attest the wealth and patriotism of the mer- 
chants and tradesmen of Bruges ; and the more we 
examine the more we shall find reason to admire 
their simplicity of taste, and their ideas of true 
grandeur. But we are in Bruges — we can judge 
for ourselves ; and let us first direct our steps to the 
church of Notre Dame — the grandest surviving mo- 
nument of this famed old capital of West Flanders." 

It rose to its present state from a small chapel, 
built by St. Boniface in 745, and dedicated to the 
Virgin ; its length is 300 feet, and in breadth and 
height it is equally grand and imposing. The ex- 
tent of the nave, of the four lower aisles or wings, 
and of the swelling dome, presents a magnificent 
coup d'ceil, and gives it an air at once picturesque 
and of peculiar grandeur. The light as we entered 
from the porch, on raising the curtain, poured in a 
flood from the lofty windows along the centre, 
while the vast columns of the aisles, left in dark 
shadow, gave a depth of chiaroscure to the sur- 
rounding objects. It was the sabbath ; the bishop 
in full canonicals was there ; they were preparing 
for the solemnities of high mass ; innumerable dark 
figures that appeared perfectly lifeless, with out- 
stretched arms, covered the rich pavement, — some 



STATUE ASCRIBED TO MICHAEL ANGELO, ETC. 29 

prostrated before the images of the virgin, and the 
most devoted, who had arrived earliest, before that 
noblest one which, ascribed to the genius of Mi- 
chael Angelo, seems by the dignity and even 
majesty of its whole expression to awe you into a 
belief of its originality. The head of the virgin is 
full of beauty; the countenance beams with the soul 
of majestic tenderness and sorrow so finely mingled, 
that if you gaze intently on it, it involuntarily draws 
tears, — a truth which my Belgian friend confirmed, 
and of which he told me more than one affecting 
instance. There is an expression that anticipates 
the griefs of the future, that seems to contemplate 
and to resign itself to them. That of the Infant has 
also an ineffable charm ; the figures are perfect ; 
the drapery of the Virgin displays a wonderful 
care and finish, which have sometimes led to the 
doubt of its really being the work of that divine 
sculptor of Italy. 

The manner in which this exquisite statue 
reached the church of Notre Dame, has been ex- 
plained by Descamps. It was first executed for the 
town of Genoa ; the vessel which bore it was taken 
by a Dutch corsair and conveyed to Amsterdam ; 
there a wealthy merchant of Bruges found and 
purchased it, and upon his return presented it to 
the church of which he was then churchwarden. 
Another and not the least proof of its being ge- 
nuine, however, is the recorded fact of that great 
amateur, Horace Walpole, having in vain offered 



30 DIFFERENT CHARACTERS OF ARCHITECTURE. 



for it the sum of 30,000 florins. Its authenticity 
nevertheless has been strongly questioned by other 
parties, among whom Beaucourt attempts to show 
that it was the work of Pierre De Mouscron, who 
constructed the marble altar, and by whom it was 
presented to the chapter. It is not the less a 
miracle of art. 

We next approached the magnificent tomb of the 
last sovereign of Burgundy, so superbly decorated, 
enamelled and silver bronzed, the glowing tints of 
which, in the clear sunlight, gave to the whole a 
strong relief, singularly contrasted with the severe 
beauty of the sculpture we had first viewed, and the 
chaste and simple architecture of the entire edifice. 
" You behold the tomb of the last of the Paladins, 
with whom chivalry died, — the ashes of the restless 
Charles the Bold. See how with their political 
degradation the architecture of the Flemish people 
and of the Brugeois, like that of the Florentines — 
for Bruges was the Florence of Flanders — began to 
degenerate, and how wide a difference between 
the styles of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries ! 
What are these rich gilt ornaments, the whole gor- 
geous monument itself, but an evidence of our 
decline ; our approaching fall under the withering 
hand of foreign dominion ! We were driven from 
bad to worse, till we reached the climax of national 
suffering in the unmitigable cruelty of Spanish 
tyranny and superstition. They were comparatively 
a lofty race, — an example of nature's nobles, — those 



INTERESTING WORKS OF ART. 



31 



Burgundian princes of ours, when placed by the 
side of Austrian and Spanish despots. The lovely 
Mary who here rests by the side of her ill- 
fated father, by her marriage with Maximilian, 
brought down a host of woes upon our country, 
which found their accomplishment in the atrocious 
policy of Philip II., and the sanguinary deeds of 
his chief executioner, the duke of Alva. But let 
us proceed ; we are here to study the picturesque ; 
and observe first this " Adoration of the Kings/' by 
G. Seghers, who resided in Italy, and was one of 
the particular friends of Rubens and Vandyke. He 
was the brother of Daniel,, the Jesuit and the flower 
painter ; realised a handsome fortune by his talents, 
which he returned to enjoy, and died in his native 
town about 1651. This is regarded as one of his 
master-pieces; the composition is good, the design 
excellent, and the figure of the king is admirably 
portrayed ; and yet in point of expressive genius — 
that power which startles and arrests, how little can 
be said of the pieces of Gerard Seghers, or of the 
Magdalen, or other specimens of J. Maes." 

Opposite the first altar is a painting by Pourbus, 
representing the Virgin, and men and women, pro- 
bably the family of the Donators, for it was pre- 
sented to the church in 1579, by a lady, Adrienne 
Delia Corona. The second altar exhibits a painting 
by Van Oost the younger, — St. Joseph warned by 
an angel to fly into Egypt ; and in a chapel to the 
right is the Transfiguration, by Pourbus, neither 



32 MEMLING, THE VAN 00STS, ETC. 



of which are worthy of particular mention. En- 
tering the third chapel, we noticed another picture 
of Pourbus — the Last Supper, in which the Saviour 
is seen supporting his head on the shoulder of his 
favorite disciple. It is like the former, however, 
an unequal production, and were it not for the im- 
mortal Mem ling (wrongly spelt Hemlink), whose 
fine productions gave occasional relief to this me- 
diocrity, a*hd that of the Van Oosts, and particu- 
larly in the church and hospital of St. John, we 
should soon have desisted from a more minute inspec- 
tion. Jacob Van Oost, however, has a St. Eloi in his 
bishop's costume ; the Virgin and Infant, with St. 
Catherine presenting a palm ; St. Joseph, a portrait 
of the painter, and St. Peter with the keys in a 
back ground — a fine composition, and which has 
altogether a noble and pleasing effect. A Virgin 
with figures of saints also, by Vanden Berghe, a 
Brugeois, displays considerable power and beauty 
of expression. Another, scarcely inferior in point 
of composition, is by J. Bernaerts, representing the 
Virgin supported by cherubims, in the act of being 
received into heaven by the holy Trinity, while St. 
Magdalen, St. John, Saints Peter and David, are 
seen prostrated, offering up their prayers. Beneath 
this is another, supposed to be from the hand of 
Memling, or at least by one of his school : the 
Virgin, with scenes from the life of our Saviour ; 
the principal figure arrayed in black, with the hands 
joined upon her knees,— a work of merit. 



CHAPELS, ETC. 



33 



A little farther on we entered the chapel called 
de Lanchals, raised to the memory of the friend of 
prince Maximilian, — a friend who, in espousing his 
interests, fell a sacrifice to popular fury, and was 
beheaded in 1488. The prince himself was thrown 
into a dungeon ; and the monument of this victim 
of fidelity and affection, to a master he so much 
loved, is still to be seen. We examined the restora- 
tions made by order of Napoleon, when, accompa- 
nied by his consort Maria Louisa in 1810, he ordered 
a sum of 10,000 francs to be employed for the em- 
bellishment of the chapel. Above the entrance is 
a small picture on wood, generally attributed to 
Otto Venius. It represents the mystical marriage 
of St. Catherine, round whose person is grouped 
a variety of figures, while soaring in the summit is 
seen a throng of angels and cherubims. 

Passing through the fourth and fifth chapels, I 
was a little surprised to find them undecorated with 
paintings of any kind, but behind the great altar 
we remarked the fine iron gates which close the 
choir. They bear the date of 1699, the name of 
the Flemish artisan Ryckham, of Ostend, and are 
very highly and beautifully wrought. 

On coming to the sixth chapel we observed the 
statue of the Virgin and child — a copy in white 
marble. It is clearly only a tolerable imita- 
tion of the divine statue of Michael Angelo. To 
the right is a curious picture on wood by Claeys- 
sens. You see upon a mountain a vast throng of 

D 



34 



CURIOUSLY WROUGHT PULPITS. 



bishops; in the midst of them a pope crowned with 
his tiara, and engaged in the act of tracing upon 
the snow the plan of a church ; while the rest of 
the picture represents a town. It conveys the his- 
tory of the foundation of the church of Santa Maria 
Maggiore, at Rome. This is real history. 

On the same side is seen the famous tribune or 
pulpit of Gruythuyse, constructed in a piece of 
solid oak, brought from the Rhine, executed in a 
Gothic style, very elegant and in complete preser- 
vation. At the bottom are richly sculptured the 
arms of Gruythuyse, surrounded with the collar of 
the fleece of gold, and having for their supporters 
two unicorns. The device or motto of this noble 
house attached to it is "plus est en vous ; meer is 
in u" of the old Flemish ; and it was a seigneur de 
Gru3 r thu} T se, Louis de Bruges, who obtained per- 
mission from the chapter to construct the antique 
oratory, under the rostrum dated 1472, and it was 
long made use of by the same family. 

Lower down on the same side is a scripture-piece 
by Pourbus, — the Adoration of the Shepherds, in 
which he has given the portraits of the famous 
Josse de Damhouder and his family, painted in 
1574. In the light streaming from a beautiful 
painted window near the oratory of Gruythuyse, we 
saw this and the adjacent pictures to singular ad- 
vantage ; the infant Jesus receiving his mother into 
heaven with a re-union of saints, kings, and 
ecclesiastics ; a martyrdom of St. Lawrence, by 



OTHER FLEMISH PAINTERS. 



35 



Kerkhove ; a fine picture of St. Thomas d' Aquinas, 
in the manner of De Crayer, painted by J. E. 
Quellyn.* Other specimens by Quellyn the young- 
er, by G. Vroeyelinck, 1620, by Pourbus again, 
Geeraerts, Martin de Vos, and Michel Coxcie, form 
part only of the pictorial wealth of this single 
chapel. In the seventh we found a series of scrip- 
ture-pieces representing the passion of our Saviour, 
not inferior in point of design and execution, by 
Gaeremyn ; several by Roose, and others by J. Van 
Oosttheson; and by Herregouts. Still these are 
not the master -pieces of Flemish painting. 

In the eighth chapel we found an altar-piece by 
Gaeremyn, representing St. Magdalen and other 
saints, which bears the date of 1769; but it has 
nothing to distinguish it from the general medio- 
crity which, as in Italy, stamps the succession of 
the princes of their schools. Opposite this altar 
appears a large painting — Elias on the summit of a 
mountain intently gazing on the enemies who 
pursued him, and whom he sees destroyed by the 
fire of heaven. It is by D. Nollet who has succeeded 
in giving a beautiful tone and character to the 
landscape. 

The ninth chapel exhibits St. Druon on his 
knees, angels seen hovering over him, by Herre- 
gouts the elder. The design is not bad, and the 
coloring very excellent ; and another piece by the 

* The friend and pupil of Rubens ; he died in 1678. 
D 2 



36 



ELEVATION OF THE HOST. 



same master scarcely inferior — St. Dominick pray- 
ing before the cross. 

We had now completed our tour of Notre Dame 
de Bruges — the grand choir in its dim religious 
light, — the two magnificent aisles illumined by the 
splendor of the variegated and deep-stained glass, 
and we were standing in the great portal before the 
noble picture of Gasper de Crayer, when the peal- 
ing organ, and the rush of devotees towards the 
high altar, announced that the most imposing of 
all religious ceremonies was at hand. This we had 
often witnessed and often described, yet, with the 
grand accessories by which it is surrounded, it must 
always exert a powerful influence over imaginative 
minds ; the deep prostration of heart and soul, of 
the real and existing, with every human faculty, be- 
fore the unknown and the unseen, the deification of 
faith in the love of the holy and the beautiful, pos- 
sess an absorbing charm to awaken sympathy — to 
extort devotion from the coldest, and feelings of 
Christian universality, in every just and well regu- 
lated mind. Nor till the close of the Catholic 
service did w T e resume our examination of Crayer. 
" That noble head of the virgin," observed my 
friend, "surrounded by saints, was painted in 1662, 
when the artist was eighty years of age. Born at 
Antwerp in 1582, he became a pupil of Raphael 
Coxcie, at Brussels, and surpassed his master. 
Never was fortune more propitious to a painter ; he 
was the idol of his age and country; Rubens himself 



GASPER DE GRAYER. 



37 



went specially to Antwerp to see him ; his friend 
Vandyke took his portrait ; and his own works, 
almost innumerable, were sought for by connoisseurs 
from all parts ; until he took his rank among the 
first men of his age. Certainly he has less fire and 
vigor than Rubens, but his style is more chaste, 
and his drawing far more correct. He is perhaps be- 
yond any other artist entitled to a comparison with 
Vandyke ; and that is saying a great deal. Indeed 
it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between these 
two artists; friends and contemporaries, both carried 
the school of Rubens to a higher perfection, and 
both are deservedly honored by their grateful 
country. A copy of Vandyke, of great beauty, but 
by whom is unknown, next met our view — St. 
Rosalie kneeling before the Virgin, who, arrayed in 
white, holding the infant on her knees, presents a 
crown of flowers to the saint. Another holy family 
by J. Maes, has nothing remarkable to arrest at- 
tention, but the copies here are all good. 

In the nave at the entrance of the choir we again 
remarked the singular and elaborately carved pul- 
pit — la chaire de verite, very curiously and profusely 
sculptured in a solid mass of wood. The figure of 
Religion appears seated on the terrestial globe, 
supporting it, displaying a bible open upon her 
knees. An angel kneeling before her is in the act 
of addressing to her a prayer. Upon the exterior 
are represented three subjects, in as many square 
frames sculptured in high relief; our Saviour 



38 CURIOSITIES OF ART. 

preaching on the mount ; on the right the Samari- 
tan standing before the well near which Christ is 
seated ; and on the left is seen the Transfiguration. 
This beautifully wrought chair e de verite, the pulpit 
of truth, was the work of the sculptor Clauwaert, 
and executed in the year 1739. In the choir we 
observed also thirty coats of arms belonging to the 
chevaliers of the fleece of gold, and painted upon 
wood. On each side of the great altar is the statue 
of an angel in white marble, executed by Pepers 
in a tolerably good style ; before it is a fine bas- 
relief of the Virgin by the same master. In another 
part was seen a very antique specimen— 1430 — of 
fine wrought tapestry, with golden arabesques, bees, 
butterflies, and flowers, which showed the perfection 
of this art. 

But it is now time to think of Memling and the 
church of St. John ; and we will then take a view 
of all Belgium from the grand tower of La Halle. 



CHAPTER III. 



Antique and Modern Bruges — Historians — One-sided Views — Celebra- 
ted Men — Traditions — Progress in the Arts — Insurance Companies 
— Extent of Commerce — Public Edifices — The Town Hall — Institu- 
tions peculiar to Belgium — English Writers — Enthusiasm contagious 
— Hospital of St. John— View from the Ramparts — Objects of 
Curiosity — Private Collections, &c. 

The Florence of West Flanders, and magnificent 
as Venice herself, of whose greatness Guicciardini 
and so many writers of the middle ages, including 
Petrarch, have spoken in terms of eulogium, 
Bruges now appears to us under very different 
colors to the emporium of arts and commerce in 
the golden days of her merchant princes, when she 
stood foremost among the cities of the world. 
Whether in regard to historical associations, her 
popular institutions, or the succession of great men 
whom she produced, at different epochs, and in 
every career, she has fallen, like " a city of the 
dead," into a strange obscurity, as little known to 
the generality of her inhabitants as to strangers ; 



40 



STRICTURES ON ART, ETC. 



a fate which her numerous historians, including the 
learned Barland, would doubtless have considered 
more astonishing than the end of the world. The 
annals of this single town, as my friend, Mr. 
Grattan, my young Belgian companion, and the 
admirable author of " Mary of Burgundy " 
(Mr. James), are well convinced, would furnish 
materials for volumes, not only pour servir a 
Vhistoire, but interesting in themselves ; possessing 
all the charms of romance, combined with that 
reality which Lord Byron pronounced to be more 
strange and fascinating than any fiction of the poet. 

The singular errors and misconceptions of visi- 
tors and strangers appertaining to Belgium, and to 
this antique city in particular, would be really 
amusing, if they were not calculated to excite pre- 
judice by their injustice. Even the streets and 
edifices, hitherto considered its peculiar boast, do 
not escape ; they first are pronounced narrow and 
crooked ; and then we are assured that the Hotel 
de Ville has only a high lumbering Gothic tower ; 
and that the church-chimes make sad havoc with 
time, the most discordant music, without the ears 
of the Belgians informing them that any thing is 
going wrong, "because the Flemings are by no 
means a musical people." We are also told that 
the only objects worth notice in Notre Dame, 
consist of the Virgin, by Michael Angelo, and the 
statue of the Father Eternal, by an unknown 
artist. M. Delepierre very naturally inquires, 



ONE-SIDED VIEWS. 



41 



whether the author had ever seen Notre Dame, or 
visited Belgium at all ? For further amusing 
instances, we beg to refer the curious reader to the 
remarks of that writer ; * and perhaps had it not 
been for the strong national feelings of the count, 
and his critical acumen, I should not have had my 
attention drawn to these random shots, at a really 
ingenious and good-natured people. But I conceive 
it better policy to pass them over : 

" To err is human ; to forgive divine/' 

and we too, had we not fallen on happier times, or 
met with friends like our pleasant residents of 
Antwerp and Liege, by a sort of special Provi- 
dence, we might have asserted that " the first inau- 
guration of the chevaliers of La Toison d'Or, took 
place at Notre Dame in 1468, by Charles the 
Hardy ; " and that St. Saviour is the second church 
worthy of attention, and that it was dedicated to 
St. Giles. " Yet this precious work, as full of 
errors as it has words," said the Count, " and stu- 
diously running down the Belgian character, as a 
consequence, was dedicated to the new king, whose 
enlarged views and excellent disposition — to say 
nothing of that admirable tact which he has shown 
on every occasion, that called for its display, — must 

* The author of several very interesting works upon Bruges, and 
other cities, celebrated during the middle ages. 



42 



CELEBRATED MEN AND ARTISTS. 



have induced him, like his subjects, to treat it with 
deserved neglect and contempt. It is always," 
he continued, "interesting, though painful, to watch 
the effect of national or private prejudice ; and I 
recollect having met with an article even more 
ludicrous, from the Dutch press, which, speaking 
of Bruges, the Liverpool of the middle ages, and 
which marshalled Ghent, Antwerp, and Brussels, 
the way to glory, enumerates, among its most 
precious monuments, the butter market, het Boter- 
huis ; then we have the isolated tower of La Halle; 
a poll/technique school in the time of the French, 
and five distinguished literary characters, known in 
Bruges during about the same number of centuries. 
Here is a publication celebrated throughout Hol- 
land and Germany for its scientific and literary 
acumen ; and laying claim to a foreign dress ! 
Can ignorance or party spirit do more ? " 

My friend Mr. Passavant, the German critic and 
traveller, in his excellent book entitled, " Kunstreise 
darch England und Belgien" (1833, 8vo t ), has 
given us very able and circumstantial details, 
connected with objects of art best deserving our 
attention in this interesting city ; and no traveller 
who aims at just and correct opinions should go 
without it in his hand. Besides, its public exhibi- 
tions and ten churches, containing specimens of 
painting and antiquities, its private collections, and 
such of its civil institutions as yet survive, are well 
worth the diligent inquiry of the intelligent stran- 



MODERN BRUGES. 



43 



ger. The artist and the amateur stand in need of 
no recommendation of this kind ; they are too well 
acquainted with Bruges and the treasures it con- 
tains, — with the names of artists eager to raise its 
modern character ; Imbert, Van Acker, and Rudd, 
who, supported by several spirited societies, by their 
assiduous study, their travel, and their active 
talents, have done so much to revive our ideas of 
the Florence of other days, and with her monuments 
to vindicate her reviving modern fame. 

Scarcely more than six miles from the sea, 
twelve from Ostend, twenty-seven from Ghent, and 
sixty from Brussels, Bruges possesses considerable 
advantages in the new rail-road, the grand canal, 
capable of admitting large vessels, an increasing 
population of 45,000 souls, seven principal gates, 
two hundred streets, and fifty bridges, calculated to 
facilitate business and general communication. 
The seat of a provincial government, of the episcopal 
and archiepiscopal see of Malines ; a court of assize 
and tribunal of commerce ; — it is nevertheless only 
the shadow of its substantial power and greatness, 
when the counts of Flanders made it their favorite 
residence ; and the dukes of Burgundy held here 
their splendid courts. Bruges is described by the 
old historians, Marcantius and Vredius, and in the 
Life of St. Eloi, by St. Ouen, as early as the year 
678. In the tenth century not fewer than six 
villages are noticed in its immediate vicinity ; and, 
like most other cities, it owed its origin to feudal 



44 



ORIGIN AND TRADITIONS. 



power — in other words, to a fortress. " Flanders," 
says Wastelain, "in the seventh century consisted 
only of the city of Bruges and its territory ;" and 
Iperius, in his quaint Latin, traces its progress 
from its castellated form, through all its stages in a 
very amusing and edifying manner. We only wish 
we had space for these pleasant old chroniclers, — 
the true fathers of modern history, and often more 
to be relied upon than their descendants after all. 
From the old tradition in Gramaye, we learn that 
Bruges took its name from the bridge called Brug- 
stock, which conducted its inhabitants to the fairs 
of Thorout and Rodenbourg ; and St. Eloi, who 
founded the first church — St. Saviour — preached 
the gospel to the Brugeois on his way to Germany. 
Charlemagne, — to spite the four sons of Aymon, we 
suppose — brought a colony of Saxons, those giant 
Swiss of old times, " to cultivate the sea shore ; " 
and according to the chronicle of St. Bevon, Bald- 
win, the Iron Arm, came in 865 to establish his 
residence in the lordly territory, de Bruges et de 
Franc. By espousing a daughter of Charles the 
Bald, he gradually became master of Flanders, 
with the title of hereditary compte souverain, till 
the arm of the church militant, too strong even for 
the iron arm of the warrior king, advanced new 
claims, and the reign of monkdom and barbarian 
invasions began. 

It was not till Charles the Simple had ceded 
Neustria, afterwards called Normandy, and also 



PROGRESS IN THE USEFUL ARTS. 45 



Brittany to the Chief, Rollon, in 912, that Flanders 
was delivered from the ravages of foreign foes; 
when Baldwin the Bald restored its ruined towns ; 
surrounded Bruges with walls, — constructed the 
Bourg and several city gates. In the tenth cen- 
tury, annual fairs began to be held, civil privileges 
were obtained, merchants resorted to the grande 
place, and commercial enterprise was fostered under 
a succession of native chiefs till 1113, when Baldwin 
a, la Hache — the hatchet man — established tribunals 
of justice, the rights of citizenship, and made the 
state respected by foreign nations. As a proof of 
this, it is related by Galbert, in his Life of Charles 
le Bon, that even the menaces of that monarch were 
disregarded, when he wished to deprive the Bru- 
geois of the civil privileges they had obtained. By 
the middle of the eleventh century, Bruges had 
risen to be a commercial town of considerable impor- 
tance. The historians Pontanus and Duchene, de- 
scribe its progress, its discoveries in the useful arts, 
and its increasing power with immunities granted 
by different native princes, who became aware of 
the advantages of civic rights, industry, and com- 
merce. 

The first blow struck at the rising prosperity of 
Bruges and of West Flanders, of which it formed 
the head, was by the Austrian Ferdinand, who, as 
well as his successors, brought war and discord in 
his train. Of its previous popular character and 



46 



THE ANTIQUE HALLE. 



institutions, some idea may be formed from the fact 
of its magistrates having been chosen from the body 
of the people, and the construction of a Halle, . or 
market-hall, for the use of the citizens and foreign 
merchants, early in the thirteenth century. The 
tower of this edifice at first wholly constructed of 
wood, was in great part destroyed by fire in 1280, 
and with it the civic titles and privileges of the 
city were consumed. This led to an attempt by 
Count Guy de Dampierre to abridge the liberties of 
the Brugeois, and a serious revolt was the conse- 
quence, in which the citizens triumphed. 

In 1291, the Halle was reconstructed with bricks, 
and from that epoch the city continued to increase 
in wealth and prosperity. It obtained an exemption 
from the duties on wine, and from the English 
government the right of free trade in wool and 
other articles throughout its entire dominion. 
Philip le Bel left no means untried to ingratiate 
himself with the Brugeois ; he declared war 
against Guy de Dampierre, and with a view of 
making himself master of Flanders, guaranteed 
such of the charters and privileges of the Brugeois 
as were destroyed by the fire. 

It was upon occasion of the subsequent peace, as 
related by Guicciardini, that the queen of Philip 
having accompanied her consort into the town 
where she was surrounded by some of the principal 
ladies, made the celebrated remark, that " she had 



RISE OF INSURANCE COMPANIES. 47 



believed she was the only queen present, but from 
what she saw there were hundreds," meaning, that 
they were as magnificently attired as herself. 

In the beginning of the fourteenth century, the 
Brugeois obtained letters patent to form an Assur- 
ance Company, for the insurance of vessels against 
fire and shipwreck, as well as of goods by land. 
The former precincts of the city were soon found 
too restricted : they were greatly enlarged ; and 
the vast work yet known as the Minne Water, and 
part of the canal to Ghent, were commenced early 
in the same century. In 1364, two splendid wings 
were added to the Halle, and it was then that 
edifice assumed its present noble dimensions, with 
the exception of the Vieuxbourg, which was added 
at a later period. It became the general depot for 
all kinds of merchandise; the corporations of trades 
at the same period made an aggregate of 50,000 
individuals ; and it is added by Gramaye, that they 
amounted only to one-fourth of the population. 
Even in the day of her decline, Guicciardini 
recounts no fewer than sixty-eight different trades 
or companies. The concourse of foreigners also 
was immense ; there were not less than seventeen 
consular residences in the city, besides state minis- 
ters and princes of other lands ; and the masses of 
free citizens and artisans who could assemble at 
the sound of the tocsin when rung from the great 
belfry, sometimes made monarchs themselves feel 
uneasy, and seek for pretexts to humble the mer- 



48 EXTENT OF COMMERCE AND WEALTH. 



chant lords who surpassed them in true glory, in 
the glory of arts and letters, and even in external 
grandeur and in wealth. It concentrated within 
itself the commerce of Europe and of the world. In 
1388, the English having attacked the Flemish 
fleet returning with wine from Rochelle, found no 
fewer than 9000 casks, placed on board a single 
vessel. It is stated by Meyer, that the great coast 
trade of Italy, of the Hanseatic towns, and of the 
Baltic, met in its ports, and he quaintly adds, in a 
contest of archery held at Tournay, 1393, among 
387 bowmen, who came from forty-eight different 
towns, the Brugeois carried the highest prizes of 
the day ; in so much estimation does the art, as a 
weapon of war, appear to have been held in the 
Low countries. 

The enormous amount which they often paid for 
the ransom of their great men, taken in war, sup- 
plies another proof, if wanting, of the high degree 
of prosperity to which free trade, and the ingenuity 
and industry of the inhabitants, once carried this 
old Flemish capital. Its public festivals were une- 
qualled, in point of richness and splendor, by those 
held in the largest capitals of Europe. 

In 1429, Philip le Bon, on occasion of his 
marriage with Isabella, of Portugal, selected Bruges 
for the scene of his gorgeous spectacles ; and there, 
too, he first instituted the celebrated order of La 
Toison d'Or, or fleece of gold. 

The centre of commercial activity and industry 



PUBLIC EDIFICES; LA HALLE. 



49 



unrivalled ; the mart of the south for the Vene- 
tians,— of the north for the Hanse towns ; the grand 
reunion of science and the arts, of rank and fashion 
from every part of Europe, the court of one of the 
most hospitable and magnificent princes, Bruges 
offered an example of successful enterprise and of 
civil freedom, surpassing even the free states of 
Italy in their palmiest days. It is the opinion of 
M. Northomb, that we should be astonished if we 
were rightly informed, how much Europe owes to 
Belgium for its general civilization ; and in parti- 
cular to Bruges, that miracle of industry and pros- 
perity, in the brilliant epoch of Philip the Good. 
But it was brief as it was glorious; by the marriage 
of Maximilian with Mary of Burgundy, Flanders 
fell under the leaden sway of Austria — of fanatical 
Spain ; and its subsequent history, like the decline 
and fall of Bruges — written in characters of blood, 
— is but too universally known in the history of 
modern Europe. 

To return then to the Halle, — in 1493, its grand 
tower was struck by lightning, and a great portion, 
including the roof of the public prison, at some 
distance, was consumed. On its restoration the 
spire was composed of wood ; another conflagration 
occurred in 1741, and it was replaced by other 
materials ; and finally the octagonal crown or 
summit of the edifice, taken from a roof which had 
been removed in 1822, as it now appears, with the 
restoration of the superior balustrade, completed 

E 



50 



VIEW FROM LA HALLE. 



this splendid work. The appearance of the Gothic 
tower from the Grande Place where the Halle is 
situated is now highly picturesque ; two wings are 
appropriated to a large market for meat, — the 
third to the municipal bureaux, and a corps de 
garde. The centre court is the linen market, as it 
is here represented, and occupies a fine open area, 
the entire stage of these four portions of the edifice 
forming one spacious gallery, in which the annual 
fair is also held, in the month of May. The 
belfry, contains forty-seven bells, of vast dimen- 
sions, which play carillons four times the hour, by 
means of an enormous brass cylinder; and the chime 
is considered one of the most varied as well as cor- 
rect and full that are known in Europe. The view 
from the summit of the tower over a vast extent of 
coast, inland scenery, towns, and cities, — particu- 
larly on a fine clear day, as we saw it, — is at once 
picturesque and magnificent ; — from the extent to 
which the eye is carried over a flat country ; — and 
the mighty ocean losing itself in the far horizon. 
La Halle aux draps, or linen market, is a modern 
building, occupying the eastern side of the Grande 
Place ; and in its architecture presents some points 
of resemblance to the palace of the Tuilleries. It 
was erected in 1789, upon the site of the ancient 
Halle aux Draps, or Water- Halle, so named from 
its having been built upon the canal ; where mer- 
chant vessels could be brought under large vaulted 
galleries, to take up or discharge their cargoes. 



ANCIENT TOWN HALL. 



51 



Opposite this edifice are to be seen the remains of 
those fine Gothic buildings, which once gave a 
more imposing effect to the Grande Place. Sepa- 
rated only by a little street from Craenenburg, the 
prison of Maximilian, La liaison en briques forming 
part of them, till lately in rapid decay, was most 
probably the rendezvous of the princes in the season 
of festivals and games ; and this singular relic has 
fortunately been preserved and restored, so as to 
give some idea of the grand architecture of those 
enterprising and brilliant days.*" 

L' Hotel de Ville, built on the site of the Schepen- 
liuys, or house of the sheriffs, in 1377, was first 
founded as early as 865, by Baldwin Bras de Fer, 
or the iron arm. It is a fine Gothic edifice, having 
six towers, two of the summits of which bore for- 
merly each a gilded brazen crown. The fagade 
exhibits six grand windows, and is richly supplied 
with niches, where formerly the statues of saints, 
and counts and countesses of the country, were dis- 
played. The great hall, lighted by four of these 
noble windows, contains the public library, which 
is composed of 7932 volumes, including printed 
books and manuscripts, some of which are of 
extreme value and rarity. The centres of the 
vaulted platform are filled with scripture-pieces 

* The house in the grande place at the corner of the Rue St. Amand, 
was inhabited by Charles II. during- his exile, and as if to console him 
for the loss of his regal title, the citizens elected him " King of the 
Company of Cross-bowmen/' — Roi des Arbaletriers. 

E 2 



52 



HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN. 



from the New Testament. From the curious brazen 
balcony were issued of old the civil laws and 
ordonnances of the magistrates. Here and there you 
see a good painting, but they are few and far 
between— by Claeyssens and Achtschelling, and 
one or two copies of Teniers and Vandyke. There 
are also some portraits ; — of Maria Teresa, and of 
Napoleon, as first consul, — the first by De Visch, 
the second by De Vien ; a St. Martin, by Van Oost 
the father, and others still less worthy of remark. 

We next turned oar steps towards the church 
and hospital of St. John, so long celebrated as a 
charitable institution, under the direction of the 
Administration des Hospices, and in which ladies 
even of the first rank, as sisters of charity, have 
conducted the establishment of the sick. The first 
sight of this interesting spot, brought to mind the 
genius and fortunes of the celebrated Memling — 
one of those intellectual princes of the earth whose 
kingdom, like their Saviour's, is not of this world, 
and who, like Camoens, Cervantes, and Tasso, 
appear for a few moments to astonish and delight us, 
and after their triumphs of mind are achieved, — the 
reflection of some greater and more beautiful state 
of being on our own — spring from the fiery ordeal 
of their trials to some loftier and more congenial 
sphere. "You ought to see the paintings of our 
Memling," observed my friend ; " the very place 
where he sought refuge from the storms of life, and 
which he immortalized by his creations, seems to 



INSTITUTIONS PECULIAR TO BELGIUM. 53 

have inspired you as it should all ; and as it did a 
countryman of yours who is almost one of us in 
heart and spirit — whose works I have read with 
pleasure ; — I mean Mr. Grattan." " His Heiress 
of Bruges, — his Sisters of Charity," I replied, 
" are portraits perfect in their kind ; and his de- 
scriptions are true landscapes. And you must 
learn to admire another of my countrymen, Mr. 
James, the happiest historian, perhaps, of Mary of 
Burgundy ; nor ought the highly- gifted writer of 
the 6 Princess,' the inimitable novelist, and best 
historian of her country, Lady Morgan, to be for- 
gotten. They have all sought to do justice to 
Flemish genius, and what is better, to Flemish 
truth, and patriotism, and worth." " And they 
are the adopted children of our mother-land ; they 
are our brothers and our sisters; England and 
Belgium are kindred spirits," was the enthusiastic 
answer of the young Belgian count. 

In 1275, a canon of Tournay named Arnoud, 
endowed a hospital at Maldeghem, but afterwards 
transferred the grant to that of Bruges, on condition 
that the patients of the former should be received 
there — a practice continued up to this day. 

iVbout 1397, the brothers and sisters of whom the 
society consisted, obtained authority to constitute 
themselves a religious body, according to the rule 
of St. Augustin. At present it consists simply of 
a sisterhood. The best professors of the medical art 
regularly attend to give them aid. Many youthful 



54 ENTHUSIASM FOR ART CONTAGIOUS. 



faces of the sisters wore a strange contrast with their 
sombre costume and the sad offices they so zealously 
performed. " The heart of woman," I exclaimed, 
" uncorrupted by man, is the retreat of all goodness 
and tenderness, from which it dispenses continual 
blessings, and watches as a guardian angel over the 
sorrows of humanity. Can the harshest nature resist 
her looks of exquisite sympathy and kindness ; her 
soul of goodness, in ever active beneficence ? whom 
no toils can subdue, no dangers and no pains appal, 
when inspired by her native innocent spirit — ' open 
as day to melting charity.' " 

" Thank you a thousand times, my dear friend ; 
you express all I could wish to feel on entering a 
spot sacred to woman's virtues, and to heaven, like 
this. You deserve to see Memling and his sisters, 
for I can never consider them apart." 

One of the sisterhood ran hastily by us, and as 
we entered, I met the looks of a man evidently 
dying, intently bent on the door by which she had 
disappeared. He was looking for her return, and 
in that look, which appeared to follow us wherever we 
turned, there was a wild and restless anxiety which 
was allayed only when she re-entered, bearing a 
small crucifix and water ; she was soon followed 
by the officiating priest. 

We had no wish to examine the copies of Rubens, 
Vandyke, or Teniers ; or any productions of the 
Van Oosts, or of inferior painters ; we hastened at 
once to the master-pieces of Memling's hand. The 



WORKS OF MEMLING. 



55 



first specimen we observed, was the famous shrine 
of St. Ursula : upon the panels of the coffer which 
contains it, the artist has painted his martyrdom of 
the 1 1 ,000 virgins, in different compartments. The 
St. Ursula is a series of histories exquisite in finish ; 
full of the austere beauty and melancholy moral of 
Christian art. The expression and the grouping are 
both admirable ; and it is altogether one of the most 
curious and rare productions, for that period of the 
art, of which Bruges can boast. Some slight portions, 
which had suffered, were, in the year 1826, re- 
touched, with extreme care, and even abstinence, by 
the able Mr. Laurent ; and on the same subject the 
baron de Keverberg composed a kind of romance — 
Ursula Princesse Britannique, with the express view 
of giving artistical and historical details regarding 
Hans Memling and this single work. But it is in 
itself a history, — a series of startling events, calcu- 
lated, in the opinion of Professor Loebel, to awaken 
the admiration of all those who study the epoch 
when Memling lived, — when the arts had scarcely 
emerged from the barbarism of ages. A shrine of 
solid silver was offered to the governors in ex- 
change for it ; but it was very properly declined. 

Next in the hall of meeting we saw another 
splendid example — the chef (Tceuvre — of the same 
master. It bears the date of 1379; and represents the 
Virgin upon a throne with the Infant, in the act of 
placing a ring upon the finger of St. Catherine. 
The two Saints John — the precursor and the 



56 HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN PAINTINGS. 



evangelist, St. Barbara and angels, form the 
accessories. On the right of the principal group, 
in a separate wing, is represented the decollation of 
St. John the baptist, and St. John the evangelist at 
Patmos; and on the left, scenes from the Apocalypse, 
and St. John seen in the act of composing it. 
Every part of these three subjects is treated in the 
most perfect manner ; the heads are elegant ; and 
all perhaps that a critical eye can detect, is a slight 
want of gracefulness and contour, or breadth in the 
design.* 

* "The beauty and expression of the heads painted with all the finesse 
of miniature., notwithstanding the remote and rude period of the art in 
which they were executed, recalled the portraits of Vandyke, and in 
some particulars perhaps surpassed them. What sublimity, what high 
intellectual character in those noble but melancholy countenances ! 

Hemlink was his own master, as the story goes. He had enrolled 
himself a single soldier in our troops, and fought hard, I warrant, for 
the independence of Flanders, against the Philips and the Louises, 
until worn out with fatigue, wounds, and what not, he came poor, 
sick, and suffering, to our gates. Belgium had always her blesses, 
voyez vous ! Well, here he was ; the sisters of St. Augustine showed 
the very ward and bed where he lay ; for we beguines do duty here 
for sweet Jesus' sake. The hospital by right is served by the Sceurs 
Augustines, but they are too few and scattered to do duty. John 
Hemlink, rest his soul, recovered slowly ; and was wont to sit under 
the portico where you passed the patients ; and he there began to draw 
little miniatures, and executed that shrine of St. Ursula, which people 
came far and near to see, till our little chapel became another Loretto. 
Who but John Hemlink now ! The town grew proud of him, and the 
magistrates gave him his conge; and it was in gratitude for the charity 
he received here, that he painted this picture for our hall. And here, 
Messieurs, he is himself— f quel joli garcon ! ' She drew aside a 
curtain as she spoke, and the handsome head and figure of the painter, 
in the dress of the patients of the hospital, stood out from its back- 



COPIES — BAS-RELIEFS. 



57 



We passed over several specimens said to be by 
a pupil of the great painter, by Jean Florens, or 
Van der Rys, the portraits of the ancient governors, 
by Van Oost and others; some pieces in the manner 
of Claeyssens, Rameau the " Sibylla Sambethra," 
erroneously attributed to Memling himself, and 
some large bas-reliefs in stone ; not undeserving of 
attention anywhere except in presence of the mas- 
ter-pieces of the painter of the church and hospital 
of St. John. 

In the interior of the hospital is an apothecary's 
establishment, of which the sisters have the entire 
direction.* The order and arrangement are both 

ground, and appeared almost to meet the admiration it elicits from 
the spectator. Underneath was inscribed, e Opus Johannis Hemlink, 
1379.' What immortality of genius \" — Lady Morgan. 

There is a great deal of truth, with a little fanciful coloring in the 
beautiful description here given of the genius and fortunes of the pain- 
ter citizen of the world, — the soldier, the pilgrim, and the hospital pa- 
tient, Hans Memling ; for Emeling, or Memling — not Hemlink — is the 
right spelling of the name by which he went. Strange, however, that 
the most powerful and truth-telling portrait which the writer ever 
witnessed — not excepting the living specimens of Vandyke, in Ghent, 
Antwerp, and in the palace of the Prince of Orange — is that magnifi- 
cent portrait — so little noticed — painted by the artist of St. John's 
of himself, in the character of an aged man — an affecting contrast to 
those he has introduced elsewhere — seen in the act of contemplating a 
skull, the expression of which no one can study without being 
strongly reminded of the character and incidents in the play of Hamlet. 

* The large open hall, partitioned into wards and dormitories, 
and with a kitchen — all for the use of patients, is conducted as it 
has been for centuries, with the utmost neatness, good order, and 
prompt attention. It is a spacious vaulted room, with Gothic pil- 
lars, apparently in the same state as when Memling was received 



58 



NUMEROUS INSTITUTIONS. 



admirable; and here, too, we noticed other paint- 
ings by Claeyssens, representing, among other 
scriptural pieces, our Saviour bearing his cross to 
mount Calvary. 

We now took leave of the sceurs hospitalliers, the 
noble Beguines, in order, before joining our table 
d'hote, to take the tour of the ramparts, where we saw 
the entire city, as if drawn on a map immediately 
below our eyes. We had next to visit the Palace of 
Justice, five or six private collections, the Royal 
Academy, the Institution for the Blind and Dumb ; 
the Athenee, and E coles Gardiennes ; the Episcopal 
Palace, the Seminary, and a throng of other 
churches. 

one of its inmates. Like the institution itself, it seems peculiar to 
Belgium, as an example of the perpetuity of a society founded 
upon truly Christian and beneficent principles, without reference to 
creed or nation. 



CHAPTER IV. 



The Royal Academy — Picture of Memling — Other Works of Art — 
Engravings and Prints — Eminent Engravers — Spirit of Trade and 
Commerce — Old Palace of Justice — Paintings — Conversations — 
Opinions of an Amateur — National Traits — La Fontaine — Speci- 
mens and Examples — Early Flemish Discoveries — First Landscape 
-— -Vander Meulen — Battle-pieces. 

The Royal Academy of Bruges, supported by the 
government, contains a school of painting, sculp- 
ture, and architecture, which has produced several 
distinguished pupils ; and, among its other treasures 
of art, may be seen one or two noble specimens of 
Van Eyke. The head of our Saviour, bearing the 
date of 1440, is full of grandeur; a portrait of the 
painter's wife, 1439, is admirable in its style ; and 
a third, the Virgin with the Infant, seated upon a 
throne, with saints George and Donatus, 1436, is 
an exquisite work in every particular, as regards 
design, high finish, and its unrivalled colors. The 
Baptism of Christ, by Memling, is another splendid 
specimen of the art ; the expression of the head 



60 



GEEFE AND KINSON. 



and features of the Saviour are irresistibly beautiful, 
—gentle and humble, yet noble in the highest 
degree. Like our friend, Mr. Passevant, we found it 
impossible, while contemplating these divine works 
of the great masters, to derive pleasure from those 
of an inferior character ; and we passed over the 
St. Christopher, erroneously attributed to the same 
master, some specimens of Claeyssens, Van Oost, 
Diepenbecke, Pourbus, Minderhont, Wynkleman, 
and some modern artists. One of the latter, by 
Kinson, painter to the court of Versailles, repre- 
senting Belisarius returned to his family, and wit- 
nessing the death of his wife, dying of grief, is 
treated with great truth and care ; as are also 
several specimens of sculpture, and in particular 
one from the hand of M. Geefe, La Chretienne 
Mourante, presented by him to the Academy, and 
every way worthy of his unquestionable genius. 

With an enthusiasm almost idolatrous, Flan- 
ders, like Italy, raised altars to all the sister 
arts, of which their presiding ministers, by their 
incessant labors, spread the same catholic vene- 
ration, and threw the same religious halo round 
their worship in other countries. In every great 
town — and there are only great towns, stamped 
with the impress of a grander age in Belgium 
— the archives of every seat of art, public exhibi- 
tions, and private collections, contain innumera- 
ble and splendid examples, which prove the ge- 
neral and simultaneous impulse given throughout 



SKETCH OF WORKS OF ART. 



61 



and beyond the middle ages, even to the subordi- 
nate branches of the fine and the useful arts. 
Holland, rich as she was in like treasures, is in- 
debted to Flanders for some of her finest monu- 
ments. When her grand admirals had raised her 
glory to a height that threatened to eclipse the fame 
of England, it was a Fleming, Rombaut Verhulst, 
born at M alines, 1633, whom the republic invited 
to raise statues to their memory. In the national 
mausoleum of our own great men at Westminster 
Abbey, upwards of twenty of the noblest monuments 
are the work of two sculptors of Antwerp ; Schur- 
maecken and Rysbrack. 

Then look at the admirable works of Vander 
Meulen, sought no less by strangers than by his 
own countrymen. How perfect the illusion ! How 
delightful to the lover of nature, and to the eye of 
taste ! The very flowers and leaves seem to invite 
you to wreathe them into garlands, and the fruits 
to gather and taste them ; its birds, animals, sea- 
fish, and other objects of nature, are not less exqui- 
sitely true and natural. In mirrors and picture 
frames he displayed the same truth, amounting to a 
delightful illusion in all he touched. In a higher 
walk, Calloigne and Kessels gave a new soul to 
sculpture ; the admiration of their own country, 
and of Italy ; and in Rome itself, where Canova, 
Thorwaldsen, and Gibson, had each displayed their 
master- works, the youthful Kessels carried the first 
prize in the academy, opposed to the best pupil of 



62 



MODERN SCULPTORS. 



the celebrated Italian. A premature death denied 
him his full fame, and the honors then preparing 
for him by his admiring countrymen. Calloigne 
continued his career with brilliant success ; bore 
away the first prizes in Paris, and then distinguished 
himself at Rome. His sculpture is perfect in its 
design, nor less remarkable for its grace and 
beauty. His Venus sort ant de la Mer, does him 
lasting honor ; and no Fleming can behold his 
statues of Van Eyck, of Count Egmont — to say 
nothing of the noble Socrates, and some bas-reliefs, 
which place him in the first rank of his country's 
artists — without emotion. Nor should the works of 
Mi Eugene Simonis, a young Liegois, be passed 
over without the praise due to his merit. 

To speak of the works of Geefe in a sketch like 
this would be injustice, opening, as they do, a new 
leaf in the history of the art,— a school for native 
and foreign talent, which renders the contemplation 
of his studio more valuable than any series of 
lectures, from the most eloquent lips. We could 
spend days, instead of hours, there with delight. 

In the art of engraving, likewise, Belgium, as is 
well known, may claim precedence, even in times 
when it was carried by Italy and Germany to its 
highest degree of perfection. M. Huber in his 
Notices generates des graveurs, divises par nations, 
(Dresden, 1787,) makes use of the following re- 
markable words, which place the subject in a clear 
point of view, and the claims of Flemish genius 



BELGIAN ENGRAVERS. 



63 



beyond dispute. " It is impossible to deny the sur- 
passing merit of the Flemish engravers over those 
of all other nations ; they have by themselves sup- 
plied every want, in regard to this wonderful and 
delightful power of multiplying beauty without 
restraint, which can be asked by the most fastidious 
amateurs. In fact," continues this admirable foreign 
critic and connoisseur, " can we estimate the power 
of the burin developed by Golzius and his disciples? 
What easy vigor in the engravers of Rubens and 
his school ! What undreamed-of magic of light 
and shade — of the untried powers of contrast in 
Rembrandt, and his followers ! What admirable 
finish and clearness of execution in the work of Ede- 
linck ! Posterity has made a just estimate ; the price 
she has now affixed to these splendid reproductions 
of the great masters, for ever decides the question 
of their relative superiority." If Fineguerra of 
Italy made the discovery, Schoonbauer, the master 
of Albert Durer, first practised the art of engraving 
upon copper, and presented fac-similes of the giant 
minds of Italy to his astonished countrymen. In 
the succeeding century, Belgium produced a suc- 
cession of distinguished engravers; — Jerome Coek, 
Theodore Debry, Suavius, Bruyn, Gheraerd, Cus- 
tos De Gheyn, and in particular Jean and Raphael 
Sadeler. Before the end of the seventeenth cen- 
tury, this truly Flemish art had reached its acme ; 
Leeu even succeeded in discovering a new kind, 
calculated to reproduce the semblance and effect of 



64 



LANDSCAPE ENGRAVERS, ETC. 



colored paintings. Pontius has thus immortalized 
Rubens and other great masters, in a strength and 
vividness of impression which seems to put their 
beauty and perfection in a more distinct point of 
view. If we had only space to report the names of 
the great landscape engravers, the contemporaries 
and followers of Sadeler, called the phoenix of the 
art, we should surprise some of our modern artists 
and even amateurs, who are not all of them perhaps 
aware, how, within half a day's sail of them, in a 
country of English tastes and feelings, there lie en- 
shrined treasures of this divine art, in all its 
branches and varieties, — the public press of the 
arts which has at once secured and immortalized the 
productions of Italian and Flemish masters which 
might have become extinct. Antwerp was the cradle 
of its power ; but Liege spread its fame throughout 
the land. Valdor, Warin, and Duvivier, acquired 
their reputation in Paris ; and to Gilles du Marteau 
we owe the invention of engraving in mezzotinto, 
or, as the French call it, la manibre noire. Valdor 
was selected by Louis XIV. for a series of historical 
subjects. Warin made great improvements in the 
engraving of medals and coin ; and even the caus- 
tic and satirical Voltaire in his history of that 
monarch observes : " We have equalled the ancients 
in regard to medals. Warin was the first who 
raised this art from the mediocrity in which it stood, 
towards the close of the reign of Louis XIII. Du- 
vivier, another Liegeois, was engraver to the court 



PALACE OF JUSTICE. 



65 



of Louis XV. After the death of that artist, M. de 
Marigny, being consulted by the king on the choice 
of a new engraver, advised his Majesty to defer 
the selection, in the hope of finding another of his 
countrymen ; for that it was only by the artists of 
that nation that apparently good likenesses were 
taken. 

The Palace of Justice, erected in 1722, on the 
east side of the town — formerly Palais du Franc de 
Bruges, (the Liberty,) forming an independent dis- 
trict, was given up by Philip the Good to the ma- 
gistracy of the Franc de Bruges. It presents 
nothing very remarkable in the fagade, but in the 
work of Sanderus, where you see a full representa- 
tion of the ancient edifice, it is different. As re- 
presented also in the accompanying view, it serves 
to convey, both in point of character and costume, 
a perfect and lively idea of the scene it once ex- 
hibited, in the palmier days of Flemish law and 
justice. It is the interior which deserves the study 
of the antiquary ; and among other objects of 
art he will remark, in one of the halls, the grand 
chimney-piece, so admirably sculptured in wood 
as to astonish the connoisseurs of every country. 
A fine alto relievo, it also produces the impression 
on the eye of a grand historic painting in wood. 
From a date upon one of the sides it appears 
that this elaborate work was executed in the 
year 1529. The genii and the bas-reliefs which 
adorn the frieze, are all in white marble ; and 

F 



66 



THE PAST AND PRESENT CITY. 



represent, with equal care, the history of Su- 
sannah. The stately figure in the centre is meant 
for Charles V. ; on his left are seen the statues 
of Maximilian, and of Mary of Burgundy ; on 
the right, those of Charles the Bold, and Mar- 
garet of England, his third wife. Upon the two 
sides, above these figures, are given the emblems 
and coats of arms of Spain, Burgundy, Brabant, and 
Flanders, all finished with an exquisite degree of art. 

Here, too, besides a series of portraits of Spanish 
sovereigns, is preserved a large painting by Van 
Oost, the son, chiefly distinguished for the exquisite 
truth of the fleshes, and the vivacity of the coloring. 
In the hall now appropriated to the use of the 
police, is another picture by J. Van Oost, the father, 
which represents a criminal, and in which it is said 
are also represented the portraits of the judges who 
lived at the period of the trial. The back-ground 
gives a view of the hall to which we have alluded, 
and it may be observed that it has very little 
changed its appearance. Over the chimney itself 
is seen a fine landscape, by Joseph de Momper, 
with figures and animals by Breughel de Velours, 
in that peculiarly happy style — the model of our 
Landseers of the present day, — which then came so 
much into vogue. 

In the chamber where the judges assemble pre- 
vious to holding their sessions, there is a splendid 
view of the town, as it appeared at that period, with 
its now antique aspect and picturesque character 



PRIVATE COLLECTIONS. 



67 



fresh upon it. It is interesting to contrast the past 
with the present, and observe the numerous changes 
and dilapidations which have rendered the latter a 
comparatively grand ruin; the sad, but picturesque 
cemetery of its own fortunes. Over the chimney 
of the Hall of the Tribunal appears an allegorical 
picture of some merit, which represents Philip the 
Good seated on a throne, in the act of granting a 
charter, bearing the date of 1435 ; and farther on, 
in the chamber of advocates, we noticed a painting 
of the Decapitation of St. John, tolerably well ex- 
ecuted, and other specimens, chiefly copies of older 
masters by Gaeremyn and Suvee, besides some por- 
traits of Spanish sovereigns, and two or three 
landscapes. In this palace are also found deposited, 
the provincial archives, among which are contained 
charters, which may be traced back to the twelfth 
century, and they are almost innumerable. 

No amateur who delights in viewing select spe- 
cimens, instead of a mixed character, will fail to 
visit M. Chantrell's collection of sketches by 
Rubens, and some admirable prints by the early 
masters. We found that of M. Steinmetz equally 
rich in paintings and in prints, in the German, 
Dutch, and Italian schools. Add to these the 
several collections of Messrs. Vanden-Bussche, 
Puyenbeke, and Baron de Marenzi, which exhibit 
some rare and excellent specimens of the arts in 
their different stages, which would agreeably occupy 
not only hours, but days, and even weeks in the 

f 2 



68 



ENGLISH AND BELGIAN ARTS. 



opinion of genuine connoisseurs, and all who have 
the happiness to possess a taste for them. " You 
will now be enabled/' said the Count, " to form 
some idea of old Flemish art, and to acquit Lanzi 
of any desire to depreciate its excellence. Nay, I 
trust to make a convert of you, to all my Flemish 
doctrines, before you join your friends at Liege. 
We will go together; at every step, you will see 
something worth your notice, and you will oblige 
me," he added, " for I will show you our schools of 
painting, as we are not singular, 6 our name is 
legion ;' from fine old Van Eyke, to my studious 
friend and true scholar De Keyser. There is also 
Geefe, too, and his studio, full of classic models, — 
I mean his own, — there is Verbeckhoeven, the very 
Landseer of Belgium, and our provinces have each 
their painters and their pupils, who, if not as suc- 
cessful as they deserve, have less to blame them- 
selves, their genius, or their talents, than the ad- 
verse spirit of their age. It is the same with your 
historical painters, it is only when your artists 
reflect your own likeness, and something better, 
perhaps, that they are really popular with you. I 
think that of the two, we are the more just ; look 
at your John Martin, how he was received here; 
his Belgian reputation is perhaps worth more than 
his English, though that deservedly stands high. 
But the stream of emigration in art, as in every 
thing else, is from you and towards your colonies, 
or us younger resuscitated states. And this is 



GREAT FLEMISH MODELS. 



69 



honorable for you ; Britain is the foster mother of 
many lands, of the peaceful arts, and of a certain 
degree of freedom, not well defined indeed, but 
good as compared with the absolutism so oppressive 
in other parts. She is the arbitress of Europe, and 
the hope of the world." 

I made the Count a profound obeisance, when he 
added, with a malicious smile ; " but you are with- 
out a pictorial history ; you must still visit Italy 
and Flanders if you wish to have it ; Bruges, Brus- 
sels, and i\ntwerp abound with native masters, who 
yield to none. If we have no Michael Angelo, and 
no Raphael, we need not shrink from a comparison 
with any other names. Fix your eye steadily a few 
minutes on our old Van Eycks, study our Memling, 
our Rubens, and he who combined the merits of all, 
the universal Van Dyke, and mark how boldly they 
confront the Giottos, the disciples of Perugino, 
Titian himself, Paul Veronese, Guido, and the Car- 
racci. While they have nothing to confound them 
even with Rembrandt, much less the second-rate 
Dutch, with the Ostades or the Brouwers. See 
our Vandyke at Ghent, and some of those noble 
portraits, carrying us back to the moral grandeur, 
the stern heroic devotion of a different age, which 
impress a glory on his saints, and radiate from the 
noble heads which give life to the walls of the 
palace of the prince at Brussels. Compared with 
these, what are the Dutch but models of their own 
bambocciati? Our Flemish painters, inspired by 



70 



FLEMISH PAINTERS IN ITALY. 



the example of Rubens, Vandyke, and Miele, 
travelled, were men of the world, and carried art 
and civilization into other lands. But the Dutch 
masters, still more than the French and English, 
almost invariably remained at home." I ventured 
to remind the young enthusiast of his country's art, 
of not a few French, English, and even Dutch 
masters who had travelled, and instanced the name 
of Wander, no inappropriate one for the occasion. 
" They are examples I grant," was the ingenious 
reply, u but only to prove the truth of my general 
observation ; and what was the use of travel, when 
they all returned home, more English, French, and 
Dutch, and yet more bambocciati, if I may so say, 
than when they left it. It was different with the 
Flemish school ; who was the master of Guido, and 
first put him into the right path, but our Calvert 
II Fiamingo of Italy ? Our Luigi Pozzo was the 
best landscape painter of his day; and Brill was 
better known in Venice and over all Italy than 
many great Italians themselves. Our David 
Teniers is in himself a host ; and our Crayer and 
Jordaens, both masters in their several lines." 
" Still," I observed, " we ought not to forget there 
have lived such men as Rembrandt, Paul Potter, 
and Gerard Dow." 

" I know and appreciate them," was the Count's 
reply, " I do not deny that they possessed positive 
merit, but of a different, and I believe, inferior 
kind. In our Flemish School, as in those of Italy, 



MODERN PAINTERS. 



71 



however, there is a splendor and a charm peculiar 
to them, and in both, I conceive, national and ori- 
ginal. And of both we may aver with the felicitous 
enthusiasm of La Fontaine, the happy poet of paint- 
ing, in words which express the spirit of our 
Flemish art : 

' A de simples couleurs cet art plein de magie 
Sait donner du relief, de Tame et de la vie. 
Ce n'est qu'une toile, et Ton croit voir un corps. 
II evoque a son gre les vivants et les morts ; 
II transporte les yeux aux confins de la terre, 
II n'est evenement, ni d'amour ni de guerre 
Que cet art n'ait enfin appris a tous les yeux.' 

"You smile," he continued, " at my French, or per- 
haps at my too great ardor of nationality, when speak- 
ing of our old masters, and the respect with which I 
view the efforts of some of my living countrymen ; for 
if you have some good names in England, we too have 
our Wappers, our Verbeckhoven, De Keysers, Na- 
vez, the Brakeleer, the Paelinck, and the Van 
Hanselaere, and more, who make worthy essays to 
maintain the celebrity of our bold and truthful 
national school. " The history of Flemish art is 
that also of discovery itself. Both Vasari, himself 
a painter, and the historian Guicciardini, attribute 
to us that of painting upon glass, and of carrying it 
to the highest degree of perfection ; in which art 
Yon Hort,a citizen of Antwerp, distinguished himself 
above all others. 

" M. de Reiffenberg has proved, against the 



72 



BELGIAN INVENTION. 



assertions of Heylen, the justice of the Flemish 
claims on this point, anterior to the reign of Charles 
V. Van Eyck was the inventor of a colored glass 
of an extraordinary strength and vividness, sub- 
sequently introduced into France, and in the six- 
teenth century into Italy. Who has not admired 
the sombre beauty, the grand reflected lights of the 
glass in St. Gudule at Brussels, painted by Jean 
Ack, of Antwerp, by Jean Floris, and by Diepen- 
becke. The beautiful specimens at Tongerloo, and 
other places, which show the triumph of this art, 
are scarcely inferior ; but so eagerly were they 
sought by other nations, that Belgium was soon 
deprived of her earliest and finest products. Those 
of Hoefnagel carried a high price, and were pre- 
ferred by judges to those of the Dutch Van Don- 
der, or the Volsak's of Germany. Miniature, in 
fact, was long perfected to admiration in Flanders, 
while in France and other countries it was a mere 
cold exhibition of raw colors. "It is still more 
indisputable, that Belgium and the world are in- 
debted to Van Eyck for the grand discovery of 
painting in oil. Certain methods, indeed, of ap- 
plying oils to paintings were known ; but the 
grand art of mingling and using them so as to 
produce new results was Van Eyck's ; that of car- 
rying it to further perfection was due to Jean de 
Bruges. 

Subsequent to the fortunate discovery by Van 
Eyck, an artist of Dinant, named Patinier, towards 



DESERVING MEN. 



73 



the beginning of the sixteenth century, was the 
first Flemish artist who made landscape his study, 
and who constituted it a principal object, instead of 
a mere accessary as we see it in the early history 
pieces and holy families, by the great painters of 
Italy. This was a bold innovation for the day in 
which he lived ; but his genius triumphed, and his 
works were soon received and imitated with en- 
thusiasm. 

And again, in another branch, Flemish originality 
may be established by the testimony of history. 
Look at the works of our Vander Meulen, who, 
emulous of Michael Angelo himself, painted battle 
pieces, like a hero of the pencil, and held forth 
models to Le Brun and his disciples, for the repre- 
sentation of the godlike Alexander taming those 
fiery steeds, which convey all the ideas of a perfect 
living reality." 



CHAPTER V. 



Route from Bruges to Ghent — Incidents by the Way — Literary Horrors 
— National Manners — Practical Jests — A Mad Professor — Odd Style 
of Improvising — Menapian Hams — Roman Gourmands — Pickled 
Curls and Herrings — Flemish Economists — and Dutch — Approach 
to Ghent— Public Works— The Grand Canal, &c. 

A pleasant ride, of little more than an hour, 
through the same highly-cultivated but rather more 
wooded and diversified tracts of country, quickly 
transferred us from Bruges to Ghent. If agricul- 
ture be the true foundation of national wealth the 
Flemings deserve to be prosperous ; but they want 
commerce, and ports, and colonial markets ; for, 
though agriculture may be an admirable foun- 
dation, commerce must build up the social edi- 
fice (to be worth living in), as they are perfectly 
aware from history and experience, that a commer- 
cial people are not only more wealthy, but that they 
create wealth, and become the real civilizers of the 
world. From the discussions which we had subse- 
quently the pleasure of hearing, both in the cham- 
ber of deputies and in the senate, and from a know- 
ledge of some projected measures, then under deli- 



NATIONAL TRAITS. 



75 



Deration, it was the decided impression of my friend, 
of the correctness of which I could hardly form a 
judgment, that the Belgian movement would yet be 
followed by its just and natural advantages. This 
time and events only can decide. 

It was a fine Sunday afternoon ; we had just par- 
taken of the best Table d'Hote — that of the hospita- 
ble mansion of M. de L. where we found a kind of 
Moselle Champagne and a Burgundy, not popular 
even in the first hotels, if we except perhaps the 
" Belvidere," and " L'Europe," at Brussels. The 
towns-people, in holiday-costume, were strolling by 
the line, or amusing themselves at the different 
stations, chatting, seeing their friends into the dili- 
gences, taking their short cuts from town to town, 
or from friend to friend, as if a dozen or two of 
miles were of no consideration ; and there certainly 
is very little damage to the purse-strings, except for 
the poorest of the operatives, and tillers of the soil. 
Our friends of Bruges had supplied us with an ex- 
cellent receipt for good humor, if not for happy ob- 
servation, at least for some hours to come; who would 
be ingrate enough to sleep on Moselle and Burgundy? 
And we had two or three amusing fellow-travellers 
in the same mood, which brought out their true 
Belgian peculiarities admirably. It was a highly 
graphic and festive scene, that which followed, the 
more from my companion's acquaintance with Pro- 
fessor G. — not one of your serious starched professors 
of the old school, but a sparkling and exuberant 



76 



AMUSING COMPANIONS. 



wit, a poet, an improviser, and in the acme of his 
intellectual glory — when inspired by Champagne 
or Burgundy, a perfect personification of " laughter 
holding both his sides." I had no idea of the 
happy Belgian character in the middle and higher 
ranks previous to that afternoon — I mean in its fa- 
vorable moments, though I had seen a good deal of 
its national and class characteristics ; but now we 
should have furnished a good conversation piece, 
and a music-lesson too, for some of the old Flemish 
masters. A splendid and spacious carriage, as easy 
and luxurious as sitting in a saloon, with the advan- 
tage of getting along ; the Professor, " no ethereal 
essence of earth's mould," no pale and abstract ideal, 
but full, florid, and well-fed enough to grace one of 
our agricultural prize-meetings ; his friend, a tall 
and portly merchant of Ghent, middle-aged, fair 
like his Saxon race, round and ruddy, gold chains 
round his neck, rings on his fingers, and, mirabile 
dictu, gold earrings too, as large as a lady's brooch 
glittering down his rubicund cheeks, and giving an 
odd kind of relief to his whole physiognomy. 

Then think for a moment of a proprietor, editor, 
critic, and author — nay, a comedian and satirist 
of course, if not a deadly lampooner, and, for 
aught I know, like M. de Gendebien, a deadly 
shot — all in one and the same awful person. I 
thought at once of the " awfu' woman," so well done 
in old days by our excellent and lamented Matthews, 
for the critic also had his earrings ; but which, in- 



A FRIEND AT COURT. 



77 



stead of exciting a smile with the sound of his name, 
sent a kind of chill through my before genial spirit. 
I was instantly on my defence ; for, spite of his 
Flemish French, M. VAnglois, was sufficiently 
manifest ; and but for the old Belgian courtesy, and 
the generous friendship of M. le Comte, I might 
have been voted de trop, or the mark of a certain 
degree of concealed satire. 

The presence of my friend, and the jeux d'esprit 
and the marked politeness of the editorial critic soon 
disarmed my reserve; and, as if to put me completely 
at my ease, he soon afterwards fell asleep. It was 
then we truly enjoyed the scene that followed, and 
which we kept up at Ghent till the ensuing morn- 
ing, with the editorial critic of the first journal in 
Brussels— the soul of our little party under the 
auspices of my companion — himself a Gantois, at 
his pretty mansion at Everghem, near Ghent. 

There is something in the very costume, as well 
as the manners, of the young and middle-aged in 
their blouses, their caskets or leather caps — their 
full jackets and trousers, that takes from the dignity 
of us children of larger growth, and, added to their 
vivacity, makes you think yourself in company with 
great boys just breaking up for the holidays. They 
rallied each other incessantly, passed their witticisms, 
even practical jests on the sleeping editor; smoked 
in spite of the conductor, and now and then enli- 
vened their discourse by pokes under the ribs, with 



78 



A NEW CHARACTER. 



similar evidences of exuberant mirth, rather at 
variance with our usual ideas of refinement. 

The humorous professor, taking the slumbering 
critic for his subject, began to improvise in a most 
vehement st}^le, in French heroic verse, ending in 
regular rhymes with the most singular turns and 
phrases, sudden apostrophes, accompanied with 
equally ludicrous and expressive gestures, that gave 
irresistible force to his rhapsody. 

" If you want proofs of the superior industry and 
ingenuity of the ' braves Beiges,' you have but to 
appeal to the exquisite flavor of their hams. What 
interesting classical associations spring up at the 
very name ! How the old Romans relished our 
Menapian cookery ! in fact, they always made their 
great roads and stations as near our pigsties as they 
could possibly contrive them. Prepared by a true 
Belgian cuisinier, our hams were a dish for an em- 
peror. But it was the art divine of not curing them 
wrong, of submitting them to the exact processes, 
secundum artem Belgicam — which made Apicius 
such a gourmand, and the happy Martial exclaim, 
in a spirit of enthusiasm quite unusual with him: 

' Cseretana mihi fies, vel missa licebit : 
De Menapis : lauti de petasone vorent/ 

" ISTow the Menapians, we know, according to 
the testimony of geographers, ancient and modern, 
spread themselves and their herds over a part of 



CLASSICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 



79 



Brabant, and another part of Flanders. Strabo in- 
forms us that we were in the habit of feeding im- 
mense numbers remarkable for their size as well as 
flavor ; that they slept in the open air, and that 
when salted they were so plentiful as to supply, not 
only the old Menapian shepherds, Brabant and 
Flanders, but Rome itself, Italy, and the civilized 
world. The cause of this wonderful celebrity is 
traced by some writers to the method of killing, by 
others to that of feeding, by more than both to that 
of salting and smoking, by certain artificial processes 
known only to the pigs and the Menapians themselves. 

" But if the lords of the creation were thus in- 
debted to our old Menapians for the exquisite flavor 
of their feasts, the ladies were not under less obliga- 
tions to us for their fine woollen stuffs, and their 
shawls and bonnets, carried to such perfection by the 
Belgians, and in particular by the Atribates : 6 Non 
sine Atribatis sagis respublica tuta erat.' So says 
Trebellius Pollio in Gallienis. Then Vopiscus is like- 
wise with us in this matter ; * Donati sunt ab Atri- 
batis birri petiti.' The flocks of sheep in other 
parts, nearly at the same time, show the extent of 
our woollen manufactures, and we are told that at 
Tournay, under Valentinian III. there was an im- 
mense factory and grand depot for the sale of the 
wrought articles ; to a degree exceeding even those 
of my friend the editor, the head gear and gowns 
being in such constant request by the demoiselles 
of France, Germany, Italy, and where not ? If the 



80 



THE USEFUL ARTS. 



first woollen manufacturers, then, it is evident that 
the Belgians were also the first dry-salters, which 
they could not have been without salt : this they 
found in the famous salt-pits belonging to the 
Menapians and the Morini, as may be seen in the 
ancient inscriptions contained in the work of Gru- 
terus. Then with regard to their chemical processes 
in the preparation of new substances, liquid and 
solid, extracted, one may fairly say, out of nothing — 
alkalies, salts, soaps, it is evident that they outshone 
the Dutch, and the Frisons themselves ; as you may 
read in the excellent memoir of M. du Rondeau, 
which forms part of the series of the Memoir es de 
V Academie de BruxellesJ To come next to Pliny. 

" From his authority we learn that an active com- 
merce was likewise maintained between Belgium 
and Rome in the article of geese, Mr. Editor, — that 
whole flocks were imported for the imperial tables, 
solely for their giblets ; and it is no improbable sup- 
position that it was the loud cackling of one of these 
noble birds, during the extraction of his liver, which 
saved the capital of the world from the hands of its 
barbarian foes. The Roman also alludes to the 
happy art and address by which MM. les conducteurs 
succeeded in enticing these ' native dwellers of the 
Flemish marshes ' to accompany them as far as the 
Roman ovens, and grace the tables of the emperors. 
He describes himself as an eye-witness of their nu- 
merous arrivals in the capital. 

"The trade in hair was another fruitful source of 



ARTICLES OF COMMERCE. 



81 



wealth in the latter days of imperial Rome ; supply- 
ing the wives or courtesans of the great and fashion- 
able with those fine blond Saxon perukes which 
had so great a charm for the dark-eyed dames who 
still affected to consider themselves the mistresses 
of the world. Of these false lovelocks, which suc- 
ceeded to potions and charms, Martial and other 
poets often speak, and allude to their Germanic or 
rather Belgic origin : 

e Cattica Teutonicos accendit spuma capillos, 

Captivis poteris cultior esse comis.' (Mar. 1. 14, Ep. 26.) 

And in another we meet with the following still 
more expressive lines : 

f Arctoa de gente comam tibi, Lesbia, misi 

Ut scires quanto sit tua flava magis.' (Ib. 1. 5, Ep. 69.) 

" In one of his delightful elegies, Ovid has some 
elegant lines, much to the same purport : 

e Nunc tibi captivos mittet Germania crines ; 
Culta triumphatae munere gentis ens/ 

" You need not be told that the extent to which 
the use of this artificial ornament was carried at 
Rome was a little mine of wealth to its importers. 
Again, the application of the 6 grey goose quill/ 
to the purpose of inditing was made by Pepin de 
Landen, a native of Liege, who became afterwards 
Make du palais in Austrasia. But it would be a 

G 



82 



SOURCES OF PROSPERITY. 



vain task to recount the triumphs of Flemish indus- 
try and skill, even in the least discoveries apper- 
taining to our social wants and pleasures. Look 
under the title of ' Red Herrings ' (M. Scourion, 
Hist, et Ency.) and you will form some idea of what 
we have done in regard to navigation, fishing, and 
pickling. And more especially consult Martin 
Scook's Dissertation upon the Herring (Groningen, 
1649) and you will be surprised to find what an 
inexhaustible source of riches for the people of 
Bruges first, and other Flemings, was that red her- 
ring, till the trade was almost wholly absorbed by 
those greater picklers, the Dutch. 

• - The fine wools of England were comparatively 
useless till Flanders sent over its manufacturers and 
artisans in the reign of Edward III. who became in- 
dignant at seeing English merchants continually im- 
porting cloth from our country made out of your 
English wool. Without either a jest or a boast, 
likewise, it was Belgium which first taught France 
the art not only of weaving, but of producing silk ; 
and our adopted historian, Guicciardini, speaks of 
Antwerp as the grand source from which the various 
processes sprung by which it was at length wrought 
to so high a degree of perfection. What beautiful 
variety and richness in the fabrication, nor less in 
the wonderful art of dyeing, with regard to both of 
which, premiums were offered and immunities 
granted to the discoverers of new methods. Louis 
XI. invited Flemgins to come and settle at Tours ; 



THE FIRST GLASS COACH. 



83 



the duke of Brabant gave a dowry of £300,000 
sterling with his daughter to Edward the Black 
Prince, an enormous sum for that period ; and the 
ladies ought never to forget that the first glass coach 
that ever appeared at Paris was brought from Brus- 
sels by the great Conde, in 1660. Let them consi- 
der also the innumerable manufactories of fine stuffs, 
silks, satin, velvets, and damask, rich carpets, and 
embroideries of every kind, the beautiful porcelains, 
the fine chemical processes for dyeing, the various 
mills for oil, grain, and other substances still seen 
on the eminences, or round the ramparts of our 
towns, and they will form some idea of the splen- 
dor and affluence of our ancient Flanders. 

" Of our modern, you see around you sufficient evi- 
dences of its flourishing state ; its waste lands, in- 
cluding the Waesland, have been rendered so fer- 
tile as to be pronounced the Canaan of the Nether- 
lands. And though there are a few discontented 
spirits, and the priesthood are aiming at re-estab- 
lishing their ancient influence — a vain attempt — we 
shall in a little time overcome the difficulties of our 
position, and the disadvantageous circumstances by 
which we are surrounded. A line of steam- vessels, 
from Antwerp to America, and the purchase of 
colonies from old European states, if we find no 
other means of acquiring them, with the internal 
trade and outlets we already possess, with the round- 
ing of our present dominions to their natural di- 
mensions by the just award of time, will raise Bel- 

g 2 



S4 



NATIONAL SPECULATIONS. 



gium to her due rank in the scale of European 
nations." Whether Utopian or not, I was unwilling 
to disturb the dreams of my happy companion, or 
I might have reminded him of the opinion of so 
many of the Gantois, not confined to the middle and 
industrious orders, that their celebrated city — com- 
mercial and manufacturing — had never been known 
so prosperous, since the days of Charles V. as under 
a Protestant and Orange dynasty. But I studiously 
avoided every allusion to politics ; I had come to 
behold Flanders in her ancient and picturesque 
grandeur — from many causes now fast on the decline, 
to trace the footsteps of her giant race with the 
principalities and sovereignties of the middle ages ; 
the site of her magnificent castles, and the loveliness 
and splendor of her river scenery. 

There is something repulsive and dreary in the 
first sight of the decayed massive ramparts, dark 
narrow streets, high garden walls, and high-pointed 
edifices of old Ghent ; before you become acquainted 
with the extent and beauty of the modern buildings 
and institutions which do so much honor to the 
taste and enterprise of the inhabitants. Streams, 
bridges, and canals — porticoes, theatres, and public 
offices — spires, towers, and churches — saints' shrines, 
hotels, and seminaries, everywhere meet the eye as 
you advance, giving us a high opinion of the busi- 
ness-like character and habits of the people ; while 
the antique air of the Gothic houses, and the vast 
monuments and remains of art bear testimony to 



EXTERIOR APPEARANCE. 



85 



the affluence and grandeur of its former inhabitants. 
It is this mixed character which gives it, like 
Venice, an air of solitary majesty and loneliness ; 
broken in the same way by a number of islands 
formed by the confluence of different rivers — the 
Scheldt and the Lys, the Liese and the Moere, which 
are connected by a succession of little bridges. It 
is this also which presents so many striking points 
of view, and picturesque objects and effects to the 
eye of the painter ; the dark waters, the hanging 
balconies, the shadows of the massy walls, the rich 
architectural ornaments : and along the grand canal 
the curious antique buildings ; the fallen arch, the 
boats moored under some vast ivy-mantled ruin, 
besides other parts of the ancient town, abound in 
localities which fix the mind as well as the eye by 
their interesting associations. 

The canal of Neuzen was originally only an out- 
let for the waters of East Flanders and Holland, and 
to prevent the inundation of the neighbouring 
grounds. The state of Flanders, and the regency 
of Ghent, with the permission of the government, 
carried it to its present extent, so as to render it a 
truly noble sea-port. Napoleon had the merit of 
first projecting it, but only with military views ; 
and it was completed within two } 7 ears by means of 
incredible efforts and activity. The canal now oc- 
cupies a space from the gate of Sar as far as that of 
Antwerp ; it cost the town of Ghent one million of 
francs, it discharges itself into the western Escaut, 



86 



THE GRAND CANAL. 



and continues increasing in dimensions until it 
reaches the breakwater at Neuzen, so that vessels, 
after their discharge at Ghent, can with ease re-as- 
cend the Escaut and proceed till they arrive at Ant- 
werp. 

The opening of the grand canal took place on the 
15th of December, 1828 ; and the ships of every 
nation have since that time entered by it the spa* 
cious port. The object for which it was constructed 
has thus in a great measure been attained, and some 
additional works, which are nearly completed, will 
considerably extend its usefulness as regards the 
interests both of agriculture and of commerce. A 
medal has been struck in commemoration of this 
great public work by M. Braemt, an artist of dis- 
tinguished merit ; and from the interest taken by 
other towns in its progress and success, there is 
little doubt that it must ultimately give a decided 
impulse to the prosperity of East Flanders. It has 
three excellent quays, with a number of magazines ; 
in addition to the extensive buildings called the en- 
trepot, erected in 1779, at the expense of the pro- 
vince. It was the object of Maria Theresa, in her 
efforts to revive Flemish commerce, thus to establish 
a direct communication between Ghent and the sea 
by way of Ostend. The architecture is simple, and 
the entire edifice admirably constructed. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Ghent — Civil Government and Institutions — Churches — St. Bevon — 
Great Bell of the Tower — Chimes — Carillons — Beautiful Epitaph — 
Series of Chapels— Works of Art— The Brothers Van Eyck— The 
Sister — Rubens and his Master — Specimens of Sculpture — Collection 
of Paintings — Aspect of Town Halls — Grand Exhibitions — Chateau 
des Com tes— Fish Market. 

The ancient capital of East Flanders, Ghent, pos- 
sesses a population of upwards 82,000 inhabitants ; 
the province is divided into six districts, and con- 
tains not less than eleven towns, and 282 boroughs 
and villages. The governor's authority extends over 
all the branches of the provincial administration ; 
he convokes the estates which send ten representa- 
tives to the second chamber ; summons the tribunals 
which hold their assizes every three months ; and 
superintends the revenues which are said consi- 
derably to exceed a million of francs. The main- 
tenance of public order is confided to a director of 
police, who performs at the same time the duty of 
river bailiff, with the aid of five commissaries and 
eighteen agents of police. It is creditable to the 



88 



THE TOWN-HALL, &C. 



magistracy that a strong body of firemen have re- 
cently been established for the additional safeguard 
of a city so rich in magnificent edifices, in manu- 
factures of every kind, and invaluable treasures of 
art. 

One of the first objects, after our arrival, was to 
visit the town-hall, and the cathedral of St. Bevon, 
so famed for its possession of old Van Eycks and Ru- 
bens*, though, to one who had never before visited 
this grand city, the whole may be said to resemble 
a single picture in the magnificence of its public 
edifices, and especially its churches. The effect is 
heightened by the deep tolling of the bells, gene- 
rally followed by some of the old carillons playing 
the national airs, sufficient to direct you to these 
venerable spots without the assistance of a guide. 
We stopped on our way to view the ancient tower 
and belfry — the loftiest in all Flanders, and one of 
its grandest national monuments, now tinged with 
the splendid rays of the setting sun. The great 
bell was the tocsin of war and tumult through dif- 
ferent ages ; it was erected to commemorate the 
civil power and independence of the Gantois in the 
12th century; and to them it was long what the 
Capitol was to the proud plebeians of Rome ; till its 
sound became the signal for the rallying of a whole 
city; 

i( Quand notre cloche bat, 
L'incendie va ; 
Quand elle sonne 
Rebellion bonne." 



THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH. 



89 



But here is St. Bevon ; we must visit Roland* 
again at the Town-hall ! 

This cathedral is one of the most splendid known 
in the Christian world ; it was consecrated in 941 
by Transmarus, bishop of Tournay. Formerly dedi- 
cated to St. John it only assumed the name of St. 
Bevon towards the middle of the 16th century, when 
Charles V. desirous of constructing a citadel upon 
the site of the ancient abbey of St. Bevon, transferred 
the collegiate chapter to the former church. It was 
raised to the dignity of a cathedral in 1559 ; and 
from the time of Jansenius, who first occupied the 
episcopal see in 1568, to that of Vandevelde, ancient 
dean of Lierre, consecrated in 1829, Ghent num- 
bered no fewer than twenty bishops distinguished for 
their great learning, their piety, or their munifi- 
cence. The tower is remarkable for its elegance ; 
and it exceeds the height of 272 feet. From the 
platform in which its summit terminates you may 
behold, extending over an immense distance, on a 
grand level, the neighbouring towns even beyond 
fifteen leagues. The French, with their habitual 
love of national pilfering, ran away, it is said, with 
a precious carillon composed of an immense number 
of bells, forming a regular series of chimes and of 
half chimes, as exact as those that can be played 
upon a piano forte. M. Schippon, the grand chimer 
at Louvain, gained a considerable sum for having 
executed upon this chime a solo extremely difficult, 

* Mynen naem is Roelant, als ick clippe dan is't brandt, 
Als ick luyde, dan is't storm in Vlaenderland. 



90 



BEAUTIFUL INSCRIPTION. 



one which Mr. Kinner had composed for the violin. 
You perceive, over the principal entrance, a statue 
of G. Huge representing St. Bevon in his ducal 
habit, and holding a falcon upon his wrist. For- 
merly, two chapters of the order of the Fleece of 
Gold were held here; the first in 1445, at which 
Philip the Good presided, the second in 1559, graced 
by the presence of the tyrant, Philip II. of Spain. 
Its architecture is a fine specimen of the early 
Gothic ; the nave of the centre in particular has a 
noble and majestic aspect ; and for that portion of 
the front which was rebuilt in 1533 theGantois are 
under obligation to the generosity of their once 
great ruler — who seemed to delight at once in 
adorning and chastising his birth-place — the 
emperor Charles V. 

In the first chapel to the right, we saw a fine picture 
by G. de Crayer, a beheading of St. John. The heads 
are beautiful, and it is not less remarkable for its com- 
position and whole execution. The second, consecrated 
to St. Colette, contains a picture by M. Paelinck, 
representing her in the act of accepting from the 
hands of the magistracy the donation of a large 
piece of ground for the establishment of a convent, 
which a nobleman, from respect for her virtues, pre- 
sented to her as a free gift. It is only tolerably good, 
but the effect is pleasing ; and we read the following 
epitaph upon this lady, who is said to have died in 
the flower of her age. 

" Dulcis arnica Dei, Rosa vernalis, Stella diurna." 



PAINTERS OF DIFFERENT SCHOOLS. 91 

The third is dedicated to St. John, and contains an 
altarpiece by M. de Cauwer, the baptism of our 
Saviour by St. John, a painting deserving of notice. 
The fourth chapel to St. Lawrence, exhibits the 
admirable St. Sebastian by M. Van Hanselaere, a 
Gantois, who spent fifteen years in Italy, one of 
the first painters of the existing Flemish school. 
What design ! what singular expression ! what 
majesty ! and what splendor of coloring ! You see 
the heroic constancy of the martyr, the incarnation 
of that faith which enables him to triumph over 
every human suffering. 

The fifth, consecrated to St. Sacrament, owing to 
an alteration made by M. Fallot de Beaumont — a 
name still fondly cherished by the Gantois, admits 
the light in so striking and agreeable a manner 
into the tabernacle, and the interior of the chapel, 
as to produce a very novel effect. The sixth chapel 
contains a fine specimen of Pourbus — taken away 
by the French, but restored in 1815 ; representing 
our Saviour surrounded by the doctors, and nearly 
all the figures are portraits of men employed under 
the government of Philip II. including that of the 
painter himself, a custom at that time much in 
vogue. 

The s venth contains a production of G. de 
Grayer, the martyrdom of St. Barbara, a favorable 
specimen of that aitist's styla. 

In the eighth we saw a picture by Van der 
Meiren, a pupil of the brothers Van Eyck, as is 



92 



SERIES OF CHAPELS. 



sufficiently apparent in the composition, the color- 
ing, and the finish of the drapery. The subject is 
Jesus between the two thieves, and the work is not 
unworthy a pupil of the fathers of the Flemish art. 
The " Woman taken in Adultery," by Van den 
Heuvel, in the ninth chapel, is not particularly de- 
serving of notice. 

The eleventh, known by the appellation of 
I'Agneau, on account of the celebrated picture it 
contains by Hubert, and John Van Eyck, is of itself 
entitled to the admiration, not to say the assiduous 
study and veneration, of every true lover of the art. 
This picture is one of the most splendid productions 
of the old Flemish school; was painted at Ghent in 
the house of Hubert, and still preserves, notwithstand- 
ing the lapse of four centuries, its character and co- 
lors in all their original freshness. It bears in all its 
attributes, and particularly in the exquisite truth 
and beauty of the composition, and in the splendor 
of its draperies, marks of the most exquisite ge- 
nius, and knowledge of the art the most compre- 
hensive, studied, and refined. The heads are full 
of noble expression, and not a figure appears in the 
whole of this vast and masterly composition, which 
is not perfect in its design, and developed and 
elaborated to an exquisite finish, even as regards 
the minutest lights and colors, so as to impress 
upon the beholder a conviction of its living and 
absolute truth. This wonderful manifestation of 
two giant minds in the infancy of the art, is unique 



WORKS OF ART. 



93 



in the history of European painting, and remark- 
able for its evidence of native artistical strength, 
borrowed from no school but that of nature, 
in itself originating a school, and stamping its 
first great character upon the old Flemish mas- 
ters. 

The painting represents " the spotless celestial 
Lamb," surrounded by angels of surpassing beauty, 
adored by all the saints, and by the personages 
of the Old and New Testament, arranged in 
four extensive groups. To the right in the distance 
are seen martyred virgins and other saints ; to the 
left, the bishops and heads of monastic orders, car- 
rying branches of palms in their hands. Again, to 
the right on the first plain, are seen upon their 
knees the patriarchs and prophets of the ancient 
law ; to the left, the apostles and confessors of the 
new law, in the centre of whom are to be recog- 
nised the portraits of the two brothers. Rising 
magnificently from the depths of the back-ground, 
you see the towers of the Holy Jerusalem enveloped 
in the glory of a luminous celestial horizon. These 
towers are said to be copied from those of Maes- 
tricht, a city not far distant from the place which 
gave birth to these two distinguished brothers. 
Above this finely-grouped painting are three 
others, not less admirable, of which the centre gives 
a full view of our Saviour, seated upon a throne. 
There is a simple and sublime majesty in the coun- 



94 



COMPARISON" WITH DA VINCI. 



tenanee and the whole expression seldom witnessed 
in modern productions ; and the magnificence of 
the ornaments, and of the pontifical habits, the 
richness and elegance of the entire costume, are 
beautifully displayed. In his left hand, our 
Saviour holds a sceptre of crystal, exceedingly 
transparent, and sumptuously adorned ; the top of 
it with precious stones, yet again surmounted with 
a splendid sapphire. The right hand is raised in the 
attitude of blessing the assembly of the faithful, who 
appear in the lower compartment, in the act of 
adoring the " Lamb of God." 

Upon the left again the painting exhibits the 
Holy Virgin seated on a throne, and in the atti- 
tude of turning towards our Saviour ; a sublime 
candor mingled with serenity, and the expression 
of the deepest piety, beam from her countenance. 
The head in particular, from its extreme beauty, 
the grace and perfection of its contour, is considered 
the miracle of the Flemish school, and it is de- 
servedly placed in the first rank, with the 
Madonnas of Lionardo. and of the divine Raphael. 

The figure of St. John, placed on the other side 
that of the Father Eternal, who regards him, forms, 
together with the Virginia very admirable con- 
trast. The profuse hair and beard of the saint 
give him a dark and startling aspect, which is in 
excellent keeping, however, with the stern austerity 
visible in his strong and manly features. He 



MASTER -PIECE OF THE VAN EYKES. 95 

holds a book in his left hand, placed upon his 
knees, and painted with a truth which renders the 
illusion most complete. 

These four paintings, which were formerly 
transferred to the Musee at Paris, were finally 
restored to Belgium in the eventful year 1815. 

It would appear that the two brothers aimed at 
giving, in their great work, a complete history of 
the leading events in scripture, for they farther 
illustrated these four magnificent subjects, with 
wings or doors in eight compartments, painted 
with a vigor of hand and beauty not inferior to 
their first splendid essays. Two of these — " Adam 
and Eve " — are now placed among the archives of 
the church of St. Bevon ; the third and fourth 
comprise a choir of angels, and a grand concert of 
vocal and instrumental music. The fifth and sixth 
represent the soldiers of Christ, and among the 
portraits we recognize those of Philip the Good, 
and of the two brothers themselves. Numbers 
seven and eight exhibit those of the hermits and 
holy pilgrims. 

It is a humiliating fact, not very honorable to the 
guardians of treasures like these, that in the year 
1816, six of the auxiliary pictures, the celebrity of 
which had been spread through Europe for cen- 
turies, were sold to M. Van Nieuwenhuyse, of 
Brussels, for the small sum of 6000 francs; in 
1818 they were resold, with some other pictures, to 
an Englishman, Mr. Solly, for 100,000 francs; and 



96 



RUBENS AND HIS MASTER. 



at length they came into the possession of the 
king of Prussia, for the sum of 400,900 francs, and 
are now the chief ornament of the royal cabinet at 
Berlin. The irreparable loss thus unfortunately 
sustained by Belgium, may be estimated by the 
rapidly increasing price, the value last set upon 
them, and the knowledge that they are considered 
invaluable, and now beyond the reach of a nation, 
out of the possession of which they ought never to 
have been ignorantly allowed to pass. 

We next examined a large collection of works 
by painters of considerable eminence, but who do 
not rank with the few great masters of the art ; till 
we came to a chef d'ceuvre of Rubens — the Reception 
of St. Amand in the abbey of St. Bevon, after the 
miracle so seldom witnessed, of having divided his 
property among the poor. It is a picture remarkable 
for its grandeur of composition ; the distribution of 
the figures, and the vigor and brilliancy of its 
coloring ; characteristics also of the altar-piece, in 
which the painter is represented as St. Hubert, 
coming as a mendicant to the convent. 

An altar-piece, the Resurrection of Lazarus, by 
Otto Venius, was pronounced by my Belgian friend 
to be worthy the master of a pupil who became the 
head of the Flemish school. It is in the style of Do- 
minichino ; the figures are finely drawn, and 
the whole composition is well studied and finished. 

In the twentieth chapel are contained the bap- 
tismal fonts from which the emperor Charles V. re- 



OTHER PAINTERS. 



97 



ceived his name in the year 1500. A few days 
after his birth, it was presented to him by his natal 
town, with the splendid gift of a boat constructed of 
solid silver, and subsequently he himself contributed 
the sum of 15,000 crowns towards the reconstruc- 
tion of that portion of St. Bevon. In the centre of 
the grand nave to the right, is seen the finely- 
wrought pulpit, executed by Delvaux, an artist of 
Ghent. It is worked in white marble and solid 
oak. At the foot of the tree of life, which sustains 
the pulpit, Time appears seated under the figure of 
an aged man ; his eyes are covered with a thick 
veil which he is in the act of raising to contemplate 
Truth, who presents herself in the form of a beau- 
tiful woman holding a book open, on which are 
traced the words, " Surge qui dormis, illuminabit 
te Christus." The four sides of this singular mo- 
nument are decorated with bas-reliefs in white 
marble; but the mixture of wood has justly been 
criticised as not being in good taste. The grand 
choir, as well as the two collateral naves, of this 
magnificent edifice, are extremely elevated, which 
gives to the whole interior, an appearance of height 
and vastness. At the entrance both on the right 
and left, are seen two colossal statues, by Van 
Poucke ; — " St. Peter," in the attitude of speaking, 
and " St. Paul " seen in the act of throwing a ser- 
pent into the flames, in the island of Malta. Like 
the early productions of this sculptor, they are 
more distinguished for the beauty of effect, than for 

H 



98 SCULPTURE SPECIMENS AND EXAMPLES. 

correctness of design ; but the drapery is admirably 
graceful. 

This pleasing artist was born at Dixmunde, in 
West Flanders, 1740, and died at Ghent, his 
adopted country, in 1809, after having passed 
many years at Paris and at Rome, and enriched the 
public edifices of his own country with many ex- 
cellent specimens of his style. Around the high 
altar we beheld four noble monuments in marble ; 
the most striking, that of the bishop of Trieste 
executed by the celebrated Duquesnoy. It has all 
the truth of life ; the eye fixed npon the cross borne 
by the Saviour ; while on the opposite side is seen 
the statue of the Virgin. The two cherubs are 
exquisitely done ; and the whole composition pre- 
sents one of the finest examples of the kind known 
in Flanders. Perhaps the only one which has 
been preferred to it by competent judges, is the 
" Maria Christina," the work of Canova, at Vienna. 

The high altar at once arrests the eye of the 
stranger, by its elevated position and splendor of 
decorations, surrounded by three gates of bronze, 
of fine and elaborate workmanship. The columns, 
all of white marble, are of the Corinthian order ; 
and, instead of the usual history-piece, the altar 
itself is surmounted by the statue of St. Bevon, in 
his ducal robes, borne upon the clouds, and with his 
eyes fixed upon the heavens. The large brass 
candlesticks, bearing the arms of England, were 
purchased from Oliver Cromwell. The figure of 



MONUMENTS STATUE OF ST. BEVON. 99 



the bishop is seen in the act of perusing the scrip- 
tures. 

The crypt or subterranean church of St. Bevon, 
embraces the extent of the choir, and also of the 
adjacent chapels. Its enormous dimensions, and 
its drear undefined limits, from the depth of 
shadow reflected far upon the interior, recalled 
those noble lines of Pope, and made one thrill with 
sensations of ineffable awe, on first entering the 
gates of the hallowed dead, — 

" In those dread solitudes and awful cells/' 

which remind you of nothing less than the vast 
catacombs at Rome, where the precursors of that 
glorious light of Christian truth, ere yet it cheered 
and illumined a benighted world, first sought 
refuge to celebrate in peace the mysteries of their 
holy faith. This crypt is divided into fifteen cha- 
pels, in which are deposited a number of tombs and 
monuments belonging to some of the oldest and 
most distinguished families in Ghent. M. de Pradel, 
the celebrated improvisateur of France, when he 
passed through Ghent in 1830, gave expression to 
his feelings upon visiting these drear abodes, in 
some lines remarkable for their mingled piety and 
sensibility. 

" Vers la crypte profonde un sentiment pieux 
M'appelle et fait courber mon front silencieux, 
Sombre asile des morts endormis sous la pierre 
Tu remplis tous les cceurs d'un besoin de priere, 
H 2 



100 THE GRAND VAULTS DESCRIPTIVE LINES. 

Ainsi pres de la tombe ou tout est verite" 
Le mortel se rattache a la diviniteV' 

Among the few paintings we saw worthy of 
remark, is one in the third chapel, in the manner of 
Otto Venius, correct in its design, and beautifully 
coloured. The subject is the Eunuch, baptized by 
St. Philip ; and in a second the saint is seen in a 
chariot expounding to him the doctrines of Chris- 
tianity ; and again the saint appears borne by an 
angel into heaven. 

In this vast mausoleum, a monument worthy of 
the Van Eycks, which, with its magnificent church, 
they rendered immortal by their works, is interred 
the body of Hubert, and that of his sister Mar- 
garet.* It is rarely that mass is here celebrated, 
but a scriptural school is opened every sabbath for 
the instruction of the young. 

Upon leaving the church we observed to the 
right and left two antique oratories, still frequently 
visited with the devotion of pilgrims to some holy 
shrine, by all classes of the devout. The first of 
these, facing the Rue du Gouvernement, contains a 
group of figures, seen depositing the body of our 
Saviour in the tomb ; the second, belonging to 
the chapter, represents the body of our Sa- 

* Marguerite Fan Eyck, the sister of Hubert and John, was pos- 
sessed of considerable talent, and was so passionately devoted to the 
art which both her brothers had ennobled, that she is said to have 
taken a vow to St. Begh6, the patroness of the Beguines, never to 
ma rry. 



VIEW AND DESCRIPTION OF ST. BEVON. 101 

viour taken from the cross, and surrounded by 
the saints of the Old Testament. The disposition 
of these groups is good ; in the style of the fif- 
teenth century ; but they have unfortunately been 
renovated with oils of different colors. 

The exterior view of St. Bevon, its lofty and 
magnificent belfry, with the towers of St. Nicholas 
on the left, particularly when seen as they here ap- 
pear — by m oonlight, is remarkable for its picturesque 
and imposing effect. Its old Gothic architecture gives 
to the latter, perhaps the oldest religious edifice in 
Ghent, an antique and sombre air, which consorts 
well with those time-worn, yet graceful turrets, the 
resemblance of which to the oriental character, 
recals to mind the days of pilgrimage, when the 
Gantois wrested from their counts the peculiar 
privilege of fortifying their houses like a castle, as 
if destined in their absence to endure a siege. The 
animated groups assembled in front, convey a lively 
idea of the old business habits and peculiar costume 
of the people. The large tower was constructed in 
the year 1406; in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
turies, the entire edifice, having suffered severely in 
the religious wars, and been converted even into bar- 
racks, received great alterations and additions, which 
appear little in unison, however, with the modern 
appearance of the surrounding buildings. The in- 
terior, likewise, underwent numerous repairs, which 
have given a new character to its decorations ; the 



102 



HISTORICAL PAINTINGS. 



grand portal was reconstructed in 1825, and the 
columns belong entirely to the modern Ionic 
order. 

This church is not remarkable for the value of 
its pictorial embellishments. The best specimens 
are by M. Maes, Roose, Janssens, Le Plat, and Van 
Den Heuvel. An Annunciation by the latter, beau- 
tifully executed, adorns the altar of the virgin : the 
high altar displays great architectural beauty, 
chiefly from designs by the sculptor Van Beveren, 
of Antwerp ; and there is a fine painting of the 
patron saint by Roose ; the force of expression, and 
the splendor of the coloring, reminding the beholder 
of the pencil of Titian. The martyrdom of St. 
Andrew, by Borremans, seen as you enter the grand 
portal, has also a good effect. St. Anthony preach- 
ing during a storm, by M. Steynert, of Bruges, a 
picture presented by the Society of Fine Arts, (there 
is hardly a Belgian town without societies of the 
kind,) is possessed of much merit. Nearly facing 
this work, placed against the fourth pillar, we per- 
ceived the epitaph of Oliver Mingau, and of his 
wife, who are stated to have had thirty-one children, 
twenty-one boys, and ten girls. When the emperor 
Charles V. made his solemn entry as count of 
Flanders, into Ghent, it is said that he remarked 
the father in his uniform, at the head of his twenty- 
one sons, forming part of the procession. Sur- 
prised that a simple artisan should have been able 



THE TOWN HALL. 



103 



to educate so large a family, the high-minded 
monarch sent for him, and presented him with a 
pension as a mark of his approbation. 

A magnificent monument of the church archi- 
tecture of the middle ages, this interesting specimen 
of the early Gothic is seen to advantage from its 
site in the centre of the town ; the most frequented 
quarter, known for its commercial activity, and 
surrounded by several public institutions. 

A stranger may generally form a pretty correct 
estimate of the importance of a modern town, by 
the character and appearance of its civic hall; — the 
Hotel de Ville of the French and Belgians, and the 
Town Hall of Great Britain ; for few other con- 
tinental nations are sufficiently happy, industrious, 
and free to present the same criterion. This at 
once discovers the relative wealth and taste of the 
city through which you pass. That of Ghent con- 
sists of two buildings ; the more ancient which 
fronts the street, called Haute-porte, is a magni- 
ficent specimen of the Gothic. This portion was 
commenced in 1481, but never completed; had it 
been so, it must have rivalled the most splendid 
monuments of the kind to be seen in Europe. Its 
distinguished architect, Jean Stassens, died in the 
year 1527, and was unfortunately replaced by Juste 
Pollet, whose first effort was to destroy the best part 
of his great predecessor's labors. " The present 
facade of the hall you now see," observed my com- 
panion, " was completed in a style and character 



104 DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERIOR. 



not at all consistent or in harmony with the genius 
of the master-mind which first planned the whole, 
though permitted only to execute a part. 

" It is in this grand hall that the floral exhibition 
annually takes place, under the auspices of the 
Royal Society of Agriculture and Botany, an excel- 
lent institution, which has thus given an example 
of liberality in the pursuit of this fascinating 
science to the Low countries, and to Europe. You 
are conducted by a magnificent staircase to the 
splendid saloon of the throne so long celebrated in 
the history of this once great capital. It is now 
appropriated to public ceremonies, to grand meet- 
ings, and to those distributions of prizes which the 
administration of the town so liberally provides for 
the encouragement of science and the useful arts." 

The Town hall contains the archives of the pro- 
vince, from a period farther back than the twelfth 
centmy. In 1820, a remarkable and interesting 
exhibition of all the various products of the country, 
took place within its walls. It embraces also some 
fine paintings, among others, one by Van Bree, 
representing the Prince of Orange interceding in 
1577 in favor of the oppressed Catholics; another 
of Themis, with the attributes of justice, by Rom- 
bouts, remarkable for its correct composition and 
force of coloring. The various historical figures 
seen in groups as they appear in the next plate, 
will give an exact idea of the old costume, and the 
turbulent spirit of the people. 



civil privileges; roland, etc. 105 



The belfry of this spacious edifice, the exterior 
of which we had already viewed, has long been an 
object of admiration to the stranger. In 1178 the 
Gantois obtained their civil privileges from Philip 
of Alsace ; among others, that of possessing a bell 
to summon the population in case of public danger; 
to discover from the tower the approach of an 
enemy, while it served at the same time as a prison 
for malefactors. In 1183 they began the great 
work, and gave it that direction as it approached 
the summit, which resulted from poetical and reli- 
gious ideas acquired in visiting the Holy Land. 
The enormous bell called Roland, was placed there 
in 1314; it is nearly 1300 lbs. weight, and was cast 
by Jean Van Roosbeke ; but till 1530 it had only a 
single dial or plate, which faced the north. Three 
others were then placed ; and the carillon was 
renewed in 1639 by Heming of Zutphen, the most 
able bell founder of his age. It possesses immense 
compass in its chimes, performs opera airs, vaude- 
villes, &c, every year renewed and varied during 
the holy week. The belfry is surmounted by a 
brazen dragon, which according to popular tradition 
was brought from one of the grand mosques at Con- 
stantinople by the Brugeois, who lost it in the civil 
wars of the fourteenth century, when their city fell 
before the power of the Arteveldes. Upon grand 
occasions, this dragon, the size of which is greater 
than two oxen, is filled with combustibles, which a 
man from the interior hurls into the sky, thus 



106 



CASTLE OF THE COUNTS. 



producing more than the usual effect of fireworks, 
from its imposing height. In this belfry., also, the 
citizens were accustomed to conceal their charters 
and other privileges ; and the lower part has more 
recently been appropriated to the purposes of a 
prison. Immediately above the entrance from the 
Botterhuis is seen a bas-relief representing Charity, 
under the figure of a female giving nourishment to 
an old man. Hence was derived the name of 
Mammelokker, given to this prison, at the foot of 
which is the rue St. Jean ; a curious stone pump, 
erected in 1810, attracts attention, and near it an 
antique Gothic building, raised in 1325, to serve as 
a market hall. 

The ancient castle of the counts of Flanders, 
situated in the fish market, is believed to have been 
erected as early as 868, by Baldwin Bras de Fer, 
the first of the name. In 1180, Philip, another 
count, repaired and greatly enlarged the wings; 
but it ceased to be appropriated as a palace from 
the middle of the fourteenth century ; it then be- 
came a state prison, and criminals were executed 
between its front balustrades, and sometimes upon 
the bridge behind the castle. In 1418, Jean Sans- 
peur came to take possession of it; in 1460 the 
spiritual court of the bishop of Tournay ; and the 
feudal court of the Vieux-Bourg occupied it in 
1559. The council of Flanders also, previous to the 
suppression of the Jesuits, held its sittings there ; 
and it is melancholy to reflect, that this venerable 



IMPERIAL RUINS. 



107 



edifice, so full of historical associations, was at 
length sold to the Sieur Brisemaille, who turned it 
into a manufactory. 

The interior, if only for its extent, is well worthy 
of observation, though the best idea of it may be 
formed from the fine engraving left us by the 
learned Sanderus in his Flandria Illustrata. It is 
to be regretted that the grand entrance should now 
be almost hidden from view by the erection of some 
wretched workshops and walls. It must strike every 
stranger with astonishment, that a city like Ghent, 
proud of its magnificent remains of art, should so 
little consult its ancient and noble origin, as to 
throw an eye of disdain on the conservation of such 
testimonials of its former power; the cradle of 
Flemish liberty, and the birth-place of emperors. 
We feel nationally interested, also, as our famous 
John of Gaunt was born here. 

The fish market presents to view a noble fagade ; 
the disposition of the interior is equally symme- 
trical, and adapted to useful purposes. A perpetual 
stream of air, carried through the main entrance, 
preserves it perfectly pure and free from noxious 
exhalations of every kind. It was erected in 1689, 
under the direction of Adrien Van der Linden ; but 
the facade was constructed from the designs of the 
celebrated Quellyn. The portal, as well as two 
smaller ones, admit a free passage ; the columns are 
decorated, and the chapters also are composed of 
sculptured fish. High above rises a circular attic, 



108 



OLD CHRONICLES. 



ornamented on each side by a dolphin in white 
marble, by Van Poucke ; the arms of the town are 
inscribed in the tympan, and above the entablature 
are seen the rivers Escaut and la Lys, supported on 
their arms, sculptured by Paoli, of Antwerp. The 
facade is surmounted by a colossal statue of Nep- 
tune by Helderemberg, a Gantois, whose works 
are held in repute. 

The fish market abuts upon the Pont de la 
Decollation, or bridge of execution, in regard to 
which the following singular tradition is still pre- 
served. A group in bronze indeed was to be seen 
here up to the time of the revolution in 1794, which 
represented a son in the act of beheading his own 
father. In 1371, says the old Chronicle, a Gantois 
having been condemned to lose his head, his own 
son secretly officiated as his executioner. In the 
act of decapitation, the sword, instead of killing 
the man, flew into a thousand pieces ; and two 
figures, large as life, were placed on the spot to 
commemorate the reputed miracle. In the town 
hall is also an old painting representing exactly the 
same subject ; and there are two inscriptions, one 
on the breast of the father, and another on that of 
the son, commemorative of the event. It is to be 
regretted, that the monument no longer remains to 
attest the value of the tradition, and to inspire 
popular horror of the crime ; while it presented to 
us the old national costume. 



CHAPTER VII. 



Historical Associations and Traditions— The Arteveldes — Biographical 
Traits — Odd Mode of Expiating Crime — Daring Spirit of the Gan- 
tois — The Brugeois — Era of Charles V. — His praise of the Belgians 
— Abdication — Monarchs of Mind — Rubens — Vandyke — And their 
Predecessors — Pain tings and Drawings — Useful Institutions — Schools 
— Lectures, &c 

Rich in historical associations, Ghent traces back 
its existence beyond the seventh century, till, like 
other cities, it is lost in legend and tradition. That 
king Dagobert, however, sent St. Amand # to preach 
the Gospel, — Charlemagne chose it for his residence 
in Flanders, — Baldwin, the first count, fortified the 
city, so that it continued to increase in territory, 
wealth, and power, to the middle of the sixteenth 
century — are facts, generally known to the readers 
of modern history. Before the tenth the Gantois 
were already famed throughout Europe for the ex- 
cellence of their looms and the beauty of their dyes, 
as well as for their rural industry and economy. 

* The first Christian church founded in Ghent, owing to the preach- 
ing of St. Amand, was in 636. 



110 



REPUTATION OF THE CITY. 



With their civil privileges, their political power 
continued to extend; in 1297 they repulsed from 
before their gates an army of 24,000 men com- 
manded by Edward I. the greatest prince and 
general of his age. At the close of the 14th century 
they mustered an army of 80,000 men equipped 
for the field within their walls ; and maintained 
their independence with consummate spirit till the 
overwhelming power of Burgundy, of Spain, and 
Austria, with barbarian hosts, trampled Flemish 
freedom and prosperity in the dust. 

It was in the zenith of its fame and its opulence 
that Petrarch visited Flanders, and on the banks of 
the Lys and the Escant is said to have expressed 
his astonishment at the grandeur of the cities which 
he had seen, and to have composed in the vicinity 
some of those beautiful canzoni which have rendered 
his name immortal. He declared, that, among all 
the cities through which he had passed after leaving 
Ttaly, he had met with none to rival Ghent in pros- 
perity and magnificence. 

, In the course of time, the Gantois succeeded in 
extending the precincts of their city, and rendering 
it at once so industrious and so populous that it sur- 
passed, both in numbers and extent, the capital of 
France itself. It was this which gave rise to the 
bon mot uttered by Charles V. in derision of the 
power of Francis I. : " Je mettrais Paris dans mon 
gand (gant)" — I could put all Paris into my glove. 
In 1300 Philip le Bel having succeeded in occu- 



SPIRIT OF THE PEOPLE. 



Ill 



pying the city, appointed Jacques de Chatillon, a 
man of tyrannical disposition, as governor, while its 
native prince, Gui de Dampierre, remained a prisoner 
in France. The people of Ghent soon rose against 
their oppressors ; Pierre de Koning, a weaver of 
Bruges, conceived the project of delivering Flanders 
from the foreign yoke. At the head of the Klau- 
waerts (the Lion-claws) a name adopted by the 
patriots, he sounded the great bell, raised the people, 
and drove the French, the Lelialen, or friends of 
the lily, from the town. The son of the imprisoned 
count was appointed to command the army assembled 
under the walls of Courtray ; while that of the 
enemy took up a position upon the Pottelberg, to 
the number of 47,000 men, more than twice that 
of the Gantois, and composed of the flower of the 
French nobility. The city was moreover suffering 
from famine ; yet Jean Borluut, at the head of the 
artisans and weavers of Ghent, gained a decided 
victory near the abbey of Groeninghe ; and more 
than 700 golden spurs and other trophies were ex- 
hibited in the church, with immense booty. 

Soon the family of the Arteveldes rose into notice 
and reputation by their gallant deeds. The union 
of Brabant and Flanders was the work of one of the 
most daring and accomplished of this noble and 
gifted race, who, in their sphere, may be said to 
have played the same perilous game as the Medici 
and other citizen princes of Italy, who had talents 
and wealth to make themselves respected, and even 



112 



BIOGRAPHICAL TRACTS. 



feared, by contemporary princes and sovereigns. 
This great event was followed by a treaty between 
the Flemings and the English, in virtue of which 
they declared war against France. Edward III. in 
his absence confided the conduct of the war to Van 
Artevelde, in conjunction with Lord Salisbury ; 
nor was it long before the Fleming justified 
the high opinion entertained of him, by bringing 
into the league nearly all the great towns of 
Brabant and Flanders. Queen Philippa continued 
to reside in Ghent, where soon afterwards she 
gave birth, in the Chateau des Comptes, to the 
celebrated John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. 
On his return, Edward, after the naval battle of 
l'Ecluse repaired to Bruges, accepted the freedom 
of the Trades ; held a council at Ghent, and attended 
by Van Artevelde proceeded in 1340 to Vilvorde, 
and took measures to besiege Tournay, supported 
by the citizen regent of Flanders, at the head of 
40,000 men. Jacques Van Artevelde was in fact 
a truly great man, and by his talents brought the 
war to a close honorable to the Flemings. A still 
greater proof of his moderation and grandeur of 
mind was his submission to the laws of his 
country, under circumstances the most trying. 
He had been deeply insulted by one of the 
magistrates ; and in the heat of the moment followed 
and invested his adversary's house at the head of 
his troops. This called forth a strong reclamation ; 
every citizen's house was his castle ; the regent at 



FATE OF VAN ARTEVELDE. 



113 



once acknowledged the appeal, disbanded his troops, 
and, not content with that, constituted himself a 
prisoner in the hotel de Villain, while his adver- 
sary occupied the Graevenstein. The cause was 
brought before the regular tribunal of justice ; Van 
Artevelde was reinstated in all his dignities ; and 
his adversary, with his partisans, were banished by 
decree of the three great towns for a limited period. 

This enlightened regent, with the consent of the 
states, in 1343, divided Flanders into three military 
districts, and was himself appointed to the command 
of Ghent, including the Pays de Waes, Termonde, 
Alost, Oudenarde, and Courtray. After a life spent 
in the service of his country, in vain endeavours to 
reconcile contending factions, and in bringing over 
the Flemish cities to elect the king of England for 
their suzerain, Jacques Van Artevelde was assassi- 
nated by his enemies with ten of his companions, 
to the extreme grief of the great towns, and of his 
ally, king Edward III. So eager were the Flemish 
cities to disclaim any kind of participation in so 
revolting a crime, that Bruges, Ypres, Cassel, Cour- 
tray, and Oudenarde, sent deputies to attest their 
horror at the unnatural act against the father and 
defender of their cities ; and the Gantois, no less 
unanimous, immediately renewed their alliance with 
England. 

It is probable that the body of the regent was 
interred in the church of La Byloque ; for it was 
there one of the assassins, De Mey, made a singular 

i 



114 



LUXURY OF THE GANTOIS. 



provision for the burning of a lamp which was to 
be kept like a vestal flame before an image of tha 
Virgin, sacred to the memory of Jacques Van Arte- 
velde ; a curious form of atonement, which shows 
that the assassin did not imagine that he had freed 
the world from a tyrant, or a monster. 

During seven years he continued to raise the 
power and prosperity of Ghent to a height unknown 
before. Equally celebrated as an orator, a statesman, 
and a general, with the noble spirit of a free citizen, 
and the dignified air of a sovereign, it is no wonder 
he became the idol of merchants and men of busi- 
ness, both in his own and in other countries ; for 
he was deeply versed in the policy which raises 
individuals, like states, to eminence ; and which 
maintains them in their power when so raised, by 
adhering to the same principles, and to the caution 
and moderation through which advantages are first 
gained, and the road to success and greatness laid 
open. He was also distinguished for his piety and 
learning ; and even the clergy advanced immense 
sums to support his government. Unhappily, in all 
times, wealth and abundance are the sure handmaids 
of luxury, depravation, and destruction ; in Ghent, 
at that perilous epoch, the simplest citizen and his 
family were seen robed in purple and silks ; and the 
people, like their governors, forgetting the example 
of their great and virtuous men, abandoned them- 
selves to that dissipation of mind and body which 
brings disorders of every other kind. The public 



SUCCESSIVE DYNASTIES. 



115 



baths, in particular, became the scene of the most 
unbridled licentiousness ; and in less than a single 
year there are said to have been committed no fewer 
than 1400 murders within the city of Ghent, and its 
dependencies. 

The marriage of Margaret, daughter of the count 
of Flanders, with Philip the Hardy, duke of Bur- 
gundy, first brought Flanders under the sway of that 
powerful house. The imposition of taxes, and the 
grant of certain privileges to the Brugeois, gave 
rise to a series of intestine wars as injurious to the 
interest of the Flemings, as favorable to the designs 
of their enemies. 

Under the counts of Flanders, the dukes of Bur- 
gundy, and the kings of France, the Flemings ceased 
not to display the same love of freedom, and even 
licentiousness, the same resistance to arbitrary 
authority, and particularly to imposts of every kind 
as being at variance with their principles of trade, 
and in these civic insurrections theGantois generally 
led the way. If overpowered for the moment they 
again rose with fresh vigor ; oppressed by the 
father, they extorted from the daughter* the grand 
charter of rights, binding upon her and her 
successors. After her death they refused to acknow- 

* Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the Bold, so beloved by 
the Flemings for her high and chivalrous spirit, as well as for her vir- 
tues, her amiable qualities, and accomplishments. She died at the 
early age of twenty-five, in consequence of a fall from her horse, which 
she concealed from her consort. 

i 2 



116 



A NEW EPOCH. 



ledge Maximilian, seized the person of his son 
Philip, and appointed tutors, who should maintain 
the legitimate government in his name. The Bru- 
geois, supporting them in this daring policy, secured 
Maximilian himself, then king of the Romans, and 
made him take a solemn oath to renounce the tutor- 
ship, to disband all the foreign troops, and to give 
hostages before they set him at liberty. 

The emperor Frederick, his father, prepared to 
lay siege to Ghent at the head of 40,000 Germans, 
but, after ravaging the country, he was compelled to 
retire with loss. Ultimately, however, Flanders 
was subjected to the payment of 525,000 florins 
towards the expenses of the war. 

A new epoch, the birth of Charles V. at Ghent, 
in the palace called La Cour des Princes, the 26th 
of February, 1500, prepared fresh disasters, and a 
more enduring yoke for the country. He was 
baptized on the fifth of March, in the church of St. 
Jean, now St. Bevon ; and the spot where he was 
born — formerly decorated with splendid bas-reliefs, 
representing the actions of the greatest prince since 
the days of Charlemagne, has been condemned to 
the inglorious use of a cotton factory. The event 
was celebrated with the utmost pomp and rejoicings ; 
and some of the exhibitions on this occasion, as de- 
scribed by contemporary writers, marked at once 
the magnificence, and the ingenuity and skill, of 
the old Gantois. Among other rare devices, we 
are told that a sort of aerial gallery was constructed 
which extended from the summit of the tower of St. 




GOVERNMENT OF CHARLES V. 117 



Nicholas to that of the great belfry — secured by im- 
mense ropes of the strongest texture ; and that during 
three days the people amused themselves with aerial 
walks from one edifice to the other, a distance of 
200 feet, the effect of which, when splendidly illu- 
minated at night, produced a novel spectacle, and 
threw its magic radiance over the general carnival 
held below. 

The history of Flanders at that eventful period is 
comprehended in the reign of Charles V. the ruler 
of Germany, of the Low countries, of Spain, Sicily, 
America, and the arbitrator of Europe and Africa. 
Still the Gantois often refused to pay the heavy 
subsidies levied during his wars, and actually rose 
in arms, — a degree of temerity for which they 
severely suffered. In the annexed view they are 
represented as preparing for another outbreak. 
Charles occupied their city as a sovereign hold- 
ing the sceptre in one hand, and the sword in the 
other ; ordered the gates to be closed, summoned his 
council, and the chevaliers of the Golden Fleece. 
He first appealed to the duke of Alba ; who advised 
him to punish the contumacy of his subjects by 
levelling the entire city with the ground. The 
emperor's reply, according to the Spanish historian,* 
was to ascend with Alba the grand tower of the 
belfry, from which he directed his attention to the 
extent and limits of the city ; and when they had 
descended, the emperor, being fond of a pun, 
demanded of his general how many skins (peaux, or 

* Strada. 



118 



HISTORICAL ANECDOTES. 



towns) in Spain he thought it would take to make 
one Flemish glove (gant — gand) of that size ? The 
duke made no reply, being fully sensible that the 
emperor was shocked with the gross inhumanity of 
his council ; which he farther showed by restricting 
his vengeance to a pecuniary fine, the privation of 
their privileges, and particularly of their great bell 
Roland, the most noisy and the most influential of 
all the agitators. In the same arbitrary manner he 
deprived other great towns of their civil rights, and 
with their freedom, their commerce and prosperity 
fell insensibly into decay. It was only when 
repulsed from before the walls of Metz, and lacking 
money to carry on his campaign, that Charles 
became sensible of the value of free commercial 
towns ; and then it was, that, in splenetic mood, 
he laid the blame upon fortune, whom he declared 
to be 66 a very woman who always preferred young 
people to old men/' Already disgusted with the cares 
of state, he abdicated his wide-extended sovereign- 
ties, in his favorite palace at Brussels, in 1555, 
and, retiring to Spain, died a monk and a maniac — 
as is well known — in the monastery of St. Juste. 
Notwithstanding his occasional rigor, Charles V. 
always respected the character of the Flemings, and 
was heard to declare that there was no people who 
could be more easily governed by a wise and intelli- 
gent prince, and none, on the other hand, who could 
be brought to bend with more difficulty to a capri- 
cious despotism, or showed more penetration in 
estimating the acts of a government. 



VISITS OF ILLUSTRIOUS MEN. 



119 



The religious and political wars by which the 
Low countries were subsequently desolated, have 
been so often described in modern history, during 
the successive periods of Philip II., Margaret of 
Austria, Albert and Isabella, Maria Theresa, and 
Joseph IL, that it will be pleasant er to revert to 
topics of somewhat more novel interest. Ghent 
appears to have been visited by the illustrious men 
of almost every age, from Charlemagne to that of 
Charles V. and from the latter to the days of Napo- 
leon and Wellington. It often afforded an asylum 
foi unfortunate princes before the flight of Louis 
XVIII. who occupied the hotel of M. Le Compte 
d'Hane de Strenhuyse, rue des Champs ; and the 
great warrior who twice restored him to his throne, 
took up his residence in one exactly opposite that of 
the French monarch, who resided there during three 
months ; and left it to give his royal brother the 
benefit of another run from Paris. It was a Belgian 
battalion (the 7th) formed in Ghent, that in the great 
battle which ensued, rescued the prince of Orange, 
when on the point of being killed or taken prisoner, 
from the hands of the enemy. " Glory to the 
7th," he cried, as he threw among them his decora- 
tions ; " you all deserve them." 

" But a truce to your lucubrations concerning 
those grand levellers of their kind — kings and 
soldiers, " I observed. 

" Who can take care of themselves/' added my 
friend; " and let us do the same, and enjoy ourselves 



120 



SPECULATIONS ON ART. 



in this splendid gallery ; for here we may satisfy 
our reason while we feast the imagination and the 
soul ; far more delightful than doing homage to the 
great, or pa}ang compliments to history, which 
Walpole declared to be ' the thing which is not ;' 
in other words, a series of well- invented fictions ; 
just 6 to talk about it ; Goddess, and about it.' But 
they are the true monarchs who sway our minds 
ages after they have ceased to live ; and here 
before you, — thanks to M. Schamp — lies real history ; 
for the great painters of their day may ennoble their 
originals, but they never distort. Here you behold 
the ' foremost men of all their age,' who, in their 
several spheres, made the greatest noise in the 
world, — kings and demagogues, lords and patriots ; 
and, better than all, the forms of the loveliest 
women, and the divine heads of our intellectual 
artists. There are two Vandykes, such as you can 
only see here, and in the Palais d' Orange at 
Brussels. Do they not seem to live and breathe ; 
as if every moment they were about to start from 
the walls, and address you ? To produce that vivid 
impression of reality is the great triumph of the art. 
There is the great statesman and ambassador P. 
Gonzalvo de Cordova; the other, Alessandro Scaglia, 
Spain's representative in the congress of Munster. 
What dignity ! — what mind ! — what calm, deep 
thought, concentrated energy, and silent passion ! 
It is, like the genius of the artist, under perfect self- 
control ; and, if they had beheld it in time, a good 



EARLY MASTERS. 



121 



study to have disciplined the exuberant imagination 
of a Napoleon or a Byron ; of all those who allow 
imagination and passion to dictate, instead of obey- 
ing the behests and throwing all their energy into 
the scale of reason. The more Vandyke is studied, 
the greater does he appear ; as if the Raphael of the 
north had not yet attained half his just meed of 
fame ; while his master, perhaps, rose to higher 
honors than he could well have sustained without 
the assistance and exciting genius of his great 
scholar. It was with our early masters as with 
Lionardo and Michael ; our Van Eycks and our 
Memlings seemed to start at once into perfection, and 
stamp an inimitable character upon their works 
which was only feebly reflected on that of their school. 
Vandyke, perhaps, is the single exception ; for, if 
you compare his heads, and the classic chasteness 
of his groups with those of Rubens, you will find in 
them a closer resemblance to the early models, a 
severe and studied beauty mingled with his luxuriant 
powers — that which is truly called ideality, from 
which Murillo was proud to copy, but which the 
more full and mechanical compositions of Rubens 
do not possess. And here we behold excellence of 
a different kind ; in their conversation and lesson- 
pieces Flemish artists still exercise a power over the 
mind — a something more interesting than any appeal 
to the senses. How graphic and real is that Legon 
de Musique ; each figure — the group — the expres- 
sion, is the triumph of art, because, as Lessing so well 



122 



RUBENS' HOUSE AND GARDEN. 



explains it, there is no appearance of art. Yet it is 
only a small jeu d'esprit of Gabriel Metz, painted in 
1652. 

" And here again you can draw an interesting 
parallel by marking a wide distinction, and write a 
sonnet to both if you please. The head of an old 
woman by Denner — an excellent Dutch portrait in 
its way ; and a beautiful girl, by Rubens — his own 
daughter ; for you see it bears a remarkable 
resemblance to his first wife, Isabella Brand. For 
this artist, it has certainly in it more of the ideal 
than we generally see ; how natural, how strong 
the relief, — and how chaste the outline ; do you 
think he painted it from a sketch made by his 
great pupil ? I do. Is it possible to conceive two 
portraits, and two styles more strongly opposed, 
than we have them before us, in the Flemish and 
the Dutch ? You see the fair child walking in her 
father's garden ; and that portico, almost the only 
object now to be seen of the splendid house and 
grounds belonging to the great painter ; and what 
a singular contrast to the wrinkles, the grey hair, 
the resigned and lowly expression of those aged 
features that seem to regard her. How singularly 
contrasted, too, with the hoydenish air, the bold eye, 
and laughing looks of that young heiress, so trinity 
bedecked in rich costume and jewellery ; for it is 
the same young lady whom you see in the garden, 
and to whom the archduke Albert became god- 
father. Rubens, we must remember, always was 



INDEPENDENCE OF MIND. 



123 



a lord, and a prince, the 4 Seigneur de Steens,' and 
of princely tastes, which he knew how to gratify ; 
for he was also an ambassador, and a Secretary of 
State ; and elevated to that dignity by the fascina- 
ting archduchess. He went also upon a mission 
• from Philip IV. of Spain, to King Charles I. of 
England ; was the companion of courtiers, and the 
favorite friend, as well as artist, of Mary de' Medici. 
He attained to fortune as well as celebrity, and, 
like the great critic Johnson, having surmounted 
every obstacle that opposed him, he maintained his 
independence with jealous vigilance, spurning the 
offers of service which came when he no longer 
required them. He acted like a true prince with 
the prince who sent him a present of fifty pistoles, 
by sending back double the number, like the Nor- 
man knights, who, finding no seats at a banquet, to 
which they had been invited, sat on their rich 
cloaks, and left them as a proof they were not in 
want of a dinner. And once when an English 
fortune-hunter came to tempt him with the promise 
of the philosopher's stone, — 6 You are too late,' he 
said, — ' 1 have found it in my palette and brush : ' 
and if we can thus speak of the noble self-respect of 
the master, the life of his greater pupil would in 
itself form a splendid romance. In presence of the 
works of such men, it is almost a task to notice less 
distinguished efforts ; the skilful interiors of Peter 
Nees ; the excellent copies of Lionardo, by Mabuse, 
the Hungarian, who, during his residence as court 



124 



PAINTINGS AND DRAWINGS. 



painter in England, produced an immense number, 
which continue to be sold as originals to this day. 
A few of his best specimens are to be seen at Am- 
sterdam ; he was also a mimic and a droll ; there- 
fore a special favorite, it is said, of that generous 
patron of merit, compared with other princes, — the 
child of Ghent, — the emperor Charles V." 

We next examined some exquisitely colored 
drawings of Rubens ; for this tasteful collection is 
rich also in the designs and studies of the best Fle- 
mish masters. It is select, though presenting few" 
specimens of each ; but when nearly all are such as 
the sketch of the "Miracle of St. Benoit," by 
Rubens, it is the more delightful to occupy the 
mind with the creations, — to feed the fancy, and 
accustom the taste only to the very cream and 
essence of this divine art. For what, but these and 
the grand religious edifices which contain them, 
has Belgium, in reality to boast for the thoughtful 
and high-minded stranger ; or what are religious 
wars or political struggles of ages, with the brute 
powder of this leviathan wwld, when put into com- 
petition with higher and loftier claims — with the 
intellectual supremacy, the immortal mind and 
fame of the lords of that beloved lyre (the supreme 
spiritual good), which so entirely absorbed the Mi- 
chael Angelos and the Miltons of every age, and 
compelled them, in spite of every allurement, 

" To scorn delights and live laborious days." 



USEFUL INSTITUTIONS SCHOOLS. 125 

"And who is the enthusiast now?" exclaimed 
the young Belgian, " was there ever a specimen of 
more German and transcendental doctrine ; at 
variance with all modern notions of turning every 
thing to jest and farce, celebrating the heroes of 
workhouses, the counting-house, or the turf, or the 
goal, and giving a zest to the commission of crime 
itself. 

" But look at this drawing — it was done by Rubens 
in the Abbey of Afficham, near Alost, when he had 
just painted the fine picture of St. Roche, for the 
cathedral of that place. It is said that he promised 
to return and paint a second subject of it for the 
refectoty of the monks ; and the place for it was 
actually kept vacant from that time up to the 
French revolution, when the monasteries and all 
their appurtenances were destroyed. 

" Ghent was celebrated for her schools of every 
kind, before the period of Charles V. to the days of 
Leopold. These have not been allowed to fall into 
disrepute. The government has made efforts to 
support their former usefulness and reputation ; 
and introduced the most approved system of in- 
struction. They may now be called the model 
school of Belgium ; and it is impossible to behold 
the vast and varied establishments of science, 
literature, and the fine arts, which arrest the eye at 
every step, without forming some idea of what she 
was in the day when she repulsed princes and em- 
perors from before her gates. As admirable as 



126 



ORIGIN OF THE BEGUINES, ETC. 



they are useful, we contemplated her extensive 
labors and productions,* ancient and modern, with 
surprise, while the surviving examples of ecclesias- 



* We had only time to cast a glance at the two churches and in- 
teresting communities attached to them of the B£guines ; of which the 
beneficent objects and practical utility, has, in the midst of all other 
changes, preserved the same character, and merited the forbearance 
and the respect of successive princes, and even of Joseph II., who sup- 
pressed so many religious establishments. Founded as early as the 
twelfth century, and conducted upon a plan differing from all other 
Catholic congregations, they retain all the advantages of the monkish 
foundations as places of seclusion, and active charity, without their 
.superstitious penances and austerity. They extort no vows; the mem- 
bers are sisters, without being nuns or recluses ; they admit females of 
every rank, and encourage every kind of manual industry. The king 
of Holland, who regarded them as combining the usefulness of hospi- 
tals, schools, and houses of industry, instead of innovating, as in other 
cases, gave them a legal title and existence in 1827- 

The sister of Pepin de Landen, since called St. Begg£, who died in 
689, is said to have been the first who formed this kind of religious 
congregation ; and the same order was afterwards established by Le- 
begue, a priest of Liege, who died in the year 1170. Its great bene- 
factress, the Countess Jeanne, of Constantinople, founded this an- 
cient establishment in 1234, and the Beguines obtained leave to raise 
a chapel, on condition of paying an annual sum to the Abbey of St. 
Bevon. The grand Beguinage now forms in itself a little town, re- 
markable for its elegance and simplicity ; it comprehends about six 
hundred members, who retain the ancient black costume, with a white 
head-dress. Ladies of the first respectability have retired to spend 
their days in these charitable retreats, nor do they confine the good 
they do, and their religious visits, to the precincts of their walls, 
though separated from the other quarters of the city. The church is 
in the centre of the square, which is surrounded with houses, as well 
as several lanes,— all in the same enclosure. Over each door there ap- 
pears written some religious sentence, or saint's name, by which the 
dwelling was known. The best time to visit the community is pending 
the church service, during the performance of which, the effect of the 



FAME OF GHENT, EULOGY, ETC. 127 



tical and domestic architecture, filled the mind 
with mingled awe and regret. We recalled the 
words of one of her enthusiastic modern poets and 
eulogists — M. de Prudel : 

" Cite" de Charles Quint, cite" des nobles cceurs ; 
Ah ! que doit etre doux de t'avoir pour patrie ! 
Tu fais fleurir les arts, les talents l'industrie, 
Eh ton front est couvert de lauriers et des fleurs." 



sombre light resting upon the dark figures seen kneeling before the 
high altar, which represents a descent from the cross, of some merit, 
inspires a feeling of solemnity and repose, seldom experienced else- 
where. The community of the Petit Beguinage consists of 400 per- 
sons, and was instituted under the title of Notre Dame au Pre, by 
the same countess Jeanne, and her sister Marguerite, in 1234. It is 
conducted upon a similar plan ; but the edifices have a more light 
and agreeable air ; and the facade of the church, in particular, is very 
elegant- The contrast on re-entering the public walks, visiting the 
cassino, the grand university, and the new theatre, after leaving these 
religious precincts, was very remarkable. 



V 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Ghent to Malines or Mechlin — Former State — Its high Privileges and 
Importance— Men of Science — Other celebrated Characters— Lite- 
rature and the Arts — The old Minstrels — Merchant Princes and 
Rulers — Specimens of Early Poetry — Marguerite of Austria — Traits 
and Traditions — Work of M. Santander — Songs of Roland — The 
Cathedral — Description — Paintings. 

Within some brief hours after leaving Ghent, 
we saw the spires of Malines, or Mechlin, now more 
celebrated as the central point of Belgian railways, 
than as the ancient seigniory which formed one of 
the seventeen united provinces. The French revo- 
lution, the wars of Europe, and the fall of Napoleon, 
which reversed the old state of things, produced 
changes even in this little town, which once 
rivalled in its manufacturing fame the great cities 
of Flanders. Having the advantage of the river 
Dyle, in direct communication with the Rupel and 
the Escant, with Brussels, Antwerp, Louvaine, Ter- 
monde, and other important places adjoining, it 
still preserves its pacific and industrial character. 



SITE AND VICINITY. 



129 



in a situation as favorable and pleasant as it is 
considered salubrious. Even its name, derived 
from Maris linea, or the sea line, would import as 
much; while its ancient appellations of the "beauti- 
ful," "the bold," and the "prudent," seem to convey 
an idea of its former success and prosperity. It 
was the seat of a grand council, and in 1490, was 
raised by the emperor Frederick into a comU for 
the eminent services rendered to its sovereigns, 
in particular during the captivity of Prince 
Maximilian, also king of the Romans during his 
incarceration, in the hands of the Brugeois ; who 
made him undergo the humiliation of a public 
retractation, and taking an oath to observe the 
terms imposed by them. 

Furnished with pleasant walks, extending round 
the town, — wide airy streets and squares, and the 
vicinity agreeably diversified with wood and water, 
— you may spend hours in admiring only the ex- 
terior embellishments and antique edifices of the 
once lordly and still busy Mechlin. We counted 
eight principal gates or entrances, opening on the 
roads to Brussels, Antwerp, Liege, Diest, and 
Louvain ; the river Dyle, and the old road to 
Brussels, at present to the modern station of the 
rail-roads. Its population, however, does not ex- 
ceed 25,000, though it has an archiepiscopal see, 
and seminary established in 1596; is a chief place 
of assize, with a local administration, composed of 
a burgomaster, three sheriffs, and fourteen members 

K 



130 FORMER INFLUENCE AND IMPORTANCE. 

of the council of regency. This grand council and 
high court of justice, was established in 1473, by 
Charles le Hardi, duke of Burgundy ; consisted of 
thirty-five members, comprehending the sovereign, 
the chancellor, one chief, and two assistant secre- 
taries, four chevaliers, six masters of requests, be- 
longing to the cour du Prince, and twenty coun- 
cillors, of whom eight were priests. From its im- 
portance it often became the arbiter of royal differ- 
ences ; superintended the affairs of the order of the 
golden fleece, of the council of state, of the finances, 
the chambers of the courts of Flanders, and mem- 
bers of the cour du Prince. The judgments of the 
provincial councils of Flanders and of Luxembourg 
were also submitted to it as a court of appeal, and 
its own verdicts were subject only to the highest 
sovereign tribunal. 

At Malines was also instituted one of the richest 
orders of chivalry — the commandery of Pitzen- 
bourg, instituted in the year 1198. 

The " Maison des Invalides," established in the 
buildings of the suppressed convent of the Jesuits, 
and in which Charles V. used to reside, the " Ca- 
serne des Soldats," the arsenals, manufactories of 
different kinds of arms, and schools of artillery 
with large experimental grounds, and many other 
public institutions, formerly gave a very different 
aspect and character to the little town. It still 
retains two collegiate schools, — that de la ville, and 
the archiepiscopal college, which last numbers 



HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS. 



131 



about 300 pupils. An academy likewise affords 
gratuitous instruction to nearly four hundred more 
in design, architecture, sculpture, and perspective ; 
add to which, a society for the encouragement of 
the fine arts ; and a large exhibition room for the 
works of living artists, continue to show what the 
more prosperous days of Malines must have been. 
The two Casernes, a guard house, and a Manege, 
erected at the expense of the town, for the use of 
the garrison, part antique and part modern, present 
a singular variety of style. It was in the four- 
teenth century that Malines possessed her grand 
cloth manufactories, the operatives in which were 
so numerous, that they sometimes became masters 
of the town, and imposed their own laws, or rather 
wages. In the fabrication of fine lace, its reputa- 
tion was equal to that of Brussels ; nor was it 
inferior in a variety of other branches, which long 
continued to support its prosperity. In fact, few 
towns previous to the revolution of France could 
boast either more splendid or more remunerating 
establishments. 

In its historical associations, its men of literature, 
painters, sculptors, and engravers, as well as in 
men of science ; and many distinguished and 
highly accomplished women, among whom the 
family of Van Thielen had three gifted with an 
excellent genius for painting, Malines still main- 
tained its rank with other Belgian cities. The 
learned Nicholas Voerdanus, blind from his third 

k 2 



132 



LITERATURE AND SCIENCE. 



year, attained to the degree of Doctor of Laws, 
in the two universities of Cologne and Lou vain. 
The two Bacx, Bernaerts, Cuypers, De Ridder, 
DoinignSj and numerous others, attained well de- 
served celebrity, and reflected lustre on their native 
town. Guicciardini speaks in terms of admiration 
respecting the literary character of the Belgians, 
from the earliest times, and adduces the state of the 
coinage, and the superior freedom of the inhabitants 
with their productions of every kind, as a proof of 
their high state of learning and civilization. The 
monastery of St. Martin, and the abbey of St. 
Bertin, produced scholars of eminence in the tenth 
and eleventh centuries ; and when the great Alfred 
wished to establish collegiate institutions in Eng- 
land, he sent for Grumbalde, to whom Oxford was 
indebted, as early as 886, for the foundation of its 
far-famed university. The work, entitled " Livre 
des Assises et des bons Usages du royaume de Jeru- 
salem" served as a model for Godfrey of Boulogne; 
and is still the admiration of the best writers on 
national jurisprudence. No people was conse- 
quently possessed of better laws ; and princely 
legislators sent to form their codes upon the same 
basis, when Henri Goethals, in advance of the spirit 
of his age, excited so much gratitude for his labors, 
that he was presented by the Sorbonne with the 
title of doctor par excellence, — the most learned 
jurisconsult of his times. He was followed by a 
throng of great names, prelates, doctors, grand 



ANCIENT WRITERS, CHRONICLES, ETC. 133 

dignitaries, — all men of first-rate merit. The 
succession of genius in the family of the Goethals 
alone, in the opinion of their biographers, was suffi- 
cient to illustrate the literary character of Belgium, 
by the number and merit of their various and 
useful works. The names of Sigebert de Gembloux, 
Alberic de Trois Fontaines, Jean d' Outre Meuse, 
Philip Mouske, Georges Chastelain, Jehan le 
Maire, Philip de Commines, — so called from the 
name of that little town upon the Lys ; with Jan- 
senius, the brothers De la Hulie, Audifroy, De 
Conde, De Bethunes, Le Frouc, Le Maire, and 
others almost equally distinguished by their varied 
talents, acquired a lustre of reputation which ex- 
tended its influence and served as an example to 
surrounding states. 

The French are indebted for much of their na- 
tional history to the same source, as witness the 
" Chronique sur les gestes des Normands en 
France," inserted in the collections of Duchesne 
and Don Bouquet. The fable of the chevaliers 
of the swan, which gave rise to so many legends 
and poems, is assuredly of Belgic origin, for it is 
full of traditions and geographical details relating 
to the country. M. Hoffman, in his " Horae Bel- 
gicse," is decidedly of this opinion, as well as the 
ingenious M. de Reiffenberg, in his valuable and 
interesting introduction. It is curious also to know 
that we owe to a Belgian physician, Renaudot, the 
first idea of a public journal, which he introduced 



134 



ORIGIN OF PUBLIC JOURNALS. 



and called by the name of Gazette. In 1 550, the 
printer Verhoeven also published at Antwerp a 
Flemish Gazette, entitled the Coura?ite, Courier, 
with the motto, — " Den tydt zal leer en ; " and 
which contained political articles, commercial and 
literary announcements, and arrivals in port. The 
first inquiry into the art of verifying dates, and the 
first collection of voyages to the Eastern and 
Western Indies, were respectively supplied by 
Maur d'Antini, and Theodore de Bry. One of the 
most extensive publications ever carried through, 
the celebrated historical work called Acta Sanc- 
torum, of the Bollandists, was the work of the Je- 
suits of the Low countries — exceeding even the 
grand labors of the Benedictins. Where are the 
historians who have not made use of the excellent 
chronicle, # by Antoine de Roovere, and Andre Die 
Sinet, natives of Bruges, in the fifteenth century ; 
and of the noble work of Sanderus ? f and where 
shall we look for a correct picture of the manners, 
customs, and history, of Flanders, except in the 
admirable annals of Meyer, of which the details are 
as interesting as they are correct? If we consult, 
likewise, the elaborate work of M. Willems, mem- 
ber of the Royal Academy of Brussels, upon 
Belgian literature, we meet with a number of new 
and interesting facts, only recently brought to light, 

* Die Excellente Cronyke van Vlaenderen. 
•t Flandria Illustrata. 



CURIOUS FABLES. 



135 



bearing upon the early rise, the successful deve- 
lopment and progress of its literature, as well as 
its fine arts ; and his views are borne out in the 
Memoire Historique, by Santander, where an esti- 
mate is made of the principal historians and poets 
of Belgium. But what is still more honorable to 
the Flemings, as proving the superiority of their 
early literature over that of their neighbours, is the 
fact of the celebrated Roman du Renard, " History 
of Renard the Fox," translated into every language 
of modern Europe, having been originally composed 
in Flanders, and by a writer of that country. The 
manner in which this was proved to be the case, is 
not a little singular ; the Belgian government 
made purchase at a sale in London — the Heber Li- 
brary — of a rare Flemish MS. of this poem, of 
which M. Willems has just given a beautiful 
edition, with a dissertation and notes, in which, 
while he does justice to the vindicatory labors of 
the Germans, he sets the matter at rest by proving 
the title of the old Flemish writer. A modern 
Belgian translation of this work has also appeared 
in which the author, M. Delipierre, has gone into a 
very curious analysis of the different " Renards 
Frangais," and the opinions of several French 
writers on the origin of this old and very entertain- 
ing fable. 

Let us now cast a glance at the early poetry of 
the Flemings in the epochs so intimately connected 
with their civil freedom and prosperity. We can 



136 



THE BELGIAN MINSTRELS. 



only regret the want of space which prevents the 
possibility of doing justice to this and so many 
other interesting questions connected with the 
intellectual character of the old Flemings, and its 
early development, while surrounding nations were 
sunk in despotic barbarism, and England herself 
was indebted for her grandest works of art in every 
branch to a succession of illustrious Flemish artists 
and scholars, to say nothing of the printers and 
editors of that enlightened people. 

The menestrels, or poet musicians as they were 
called, will be found to yield in no way to those of 
France or Provence, and in addition to other sources, 
sufficient examples are afforded in the songs of 
Henri VII., duke of Brabant, about 1240 ; in those 
of Gilbert de Berneville, born at Courtray, who 
flourished about 1260; of Regnier de Quaregnon; 
Gonthier de Soignies, of Jean de la Fontaine, born 
at Tournay, besides a throng of others, who enjoyed 
a high reputation in their day, as the biographical 
work of M. Fetis has fully shown. The specimens 
of early Flemish poetry ; — yet a desideratum in 
England, exhibit great poetical power, and charac- 
teristics of original and national production pecu- 
liarly their own. They prove to what an extent 
polite letters were formerly cultivated, when the 
greater part of Flemish princes, the merchant 
princes, and a few of the more enlightened sove- 
reigns who usurped the title, made it their glory to 



POETICAL TASTE AND INGENUITY. 137 



promote the labors and court the society of artists 
and great literary and scientific men. The munifi- 
cent spirit of Margaret of Austria, who was born 
at Bruges, and who selected the objects of her 
regard with singular discernment, was herself 
possessed of poetic talent. Previous to the year 
1794, there existed in the ducal library of Burgundy 
three MSS. volumes containing songs, many set to 
music, great part of which were of her composition. 
Towards the middle of the thirteenth century, Jean 
I., duke of Brabant, was famous for his easy errotic 
poetry, specimens of which have appeared in that 
magnificent work : " Samlung der Minnsingeren" 
(1758, 2 vols. 4to,) which exhibit numerous ex- 
quisite fragments, some versions of which in modern 
French would gratify the taste of the poet, as much 
as the ear of the musician. 

Three ages before, the Liegois, Eaterus, bishop of 
Verona, embraced in himself the whole ecclesiastical 
literature of Italy, with the exception of Alton, 
bishop of Verceil. Lemaire, a Belgian, was the 
first to introduce those artful and pleasing changes 
in French verse which add so much to its sweetness 
and variety ; to which Clement Marot was a com- 
parative stranger, and yet adopted it with so much 
difficulty in his old age. The protectress of arts 
and sciences, Margaret of Austria, was passionately 
attached to these Belgic innovations in the form 
and expression of the old French rhymes ; and she 



138 



OLD FLEMISH POETRY. 



delighted to compose the new ballads, and to sing 
them, — a task which gave rise to a farther suc- 
cession of able and accomplished musicians, who 
spread themselves over all neighbouring lands, and 
became the restorers of the art in Europe. It will 
perhaps not be unappreciated by the fairer portion 
of our readers, should our restricted limits permit, 
to give a slight version of one or two of these poetic 
essays of a princess so celebrated, and of lofty 
intellect, who by her more than maternal care, 
formed all that was noble and magnanimous in the 
character of the emperor Charles V. Happy for 
him had she had the sole conduct of his education 
from his earliest years : their close had been different ! 

" Ce n'est pas jeu d'estre si fortunee 
D'estre si fortunee, 
Qu'eslonger fault de ce qu'on ayme bien. 
Et je suis sceure que pas de lui ne vient, 
Mais me procede de ma grant destinee, 
Dites vous done que je suis esgaree. 
Quant je me vois separee de mon bien ! 
Ce n'est pas jeu d'estre si fortunee. 

'< Qu'eslonger fault de ce qu'on ayme bien. 
J'ai le rebours de toute ma pensee ; 
Et sy n'ayme qui me conforte en rien ; 
De tout cecy je le porterray bien, 
Mais que de luy je ne soys oubliee 
Ce ne pas jeu/' &c. 

" Is it to be high born and great 
To hold a solemn state, 
Debarred the sight of him who fills my soul? 
Fortune, is this thy sport, or fate's control ? 



THE CELEBRATED MARGUERITE. 



139 



His voice, his step no more I hear — 
Come aid me then to pour the love-lorn sigh, 
O'er the strange play of this high destiny, 
Torn from his arms to shed th' unheeded tear, 
Is it to be high born and great ? 

" Debarred the sight of him who fills my soul ! 
Is aye the burden of my thought and song ; 
And if I scorn what would my heart console 
It is because I would not pass the goal, 
Forgot by him — of all my earthly dole, 
Is it to be high born and great ?" 

We might adduce several other specimens of a 
different character, had we more space ; and in 
particular those selected by M. Santander in his 
pleasing work, full of historical interest, upon the 
library of the dukes of Burgundy. We must be 
content, however, with a single fragment in the 
following elegy. 

" Cueurs desolez par toutes nations, 
Deuil ensemblez et lamentations, 
Plus ne querez l'harmonieuse lyre ; 
Lyesse, es bas et consolations 
Laissez aller, prenez pleurs et passions 
Et m'aydez tous a croistre mon martyre. 
Cueurs desolez. 

te De Orpheus pour vostre joye eslire 
Ains vous plongez en desolations, 
Venez a moy par mille legions. 
Enfondez moi douleurs par millions ! 
Le noble et bon dont on ne peut mal dire 
Le sou tenant de tous sens contredire 
Est mort, helas ! quels maledictions. 
Cueurs desolez." 



140 THE ORPHEAN LYRE. 

" Weep, hearts ! weep, loves of every clime, 
And with my heart-strung- notes keep time ; 
No longer seek the lyre's melodious measures, 
Nor ease, nor joy, nor hopes yet more sublime ; 
Away with all ; all fond conceits of rhyme. 
Weep with me now ; nor longer dream of pleasures. 
Weep, hearts. 

" Or, if you will, choose sorrowing Orpheus' lyre, 
Strike deep the chords with passions strong, 
Such as to legions of dread woes belong ; 
And so my griefs with yours I'll mingle long. 
I saw the noble and the good expire, 
Of whom none evil spake — so loved, so young, 
Now dead, alas, the sad theme of my song. 
Weep, hearts." 

In the following there prevails a deep pathos and 
tenderness of regret, which reminds us strongly of 
the fine sonnet written by Gray on the death of his 
beloved friend West. 

"Me faudra-t-il toujours ainsi languir, 
Me faudra-t-il enfin ainsi mourir, 
Nul aura-t-il de mon mal cognaissance ? 
Trop a dure, car c'est des mon enfance. 
Mestier en ai. Je le prends sur ma foy, 
Car mon seul bien est souvent pres de moy ; 
Mais pour les gens fault faire contenance. 
Par quoy conclus seulette et a part moy 
Qu'il me faudra user de pacience ; 
Las ! c'est pour moy trop grande penitence, 
Certes ouy, et plus quand ne le voy." 

" And must I ceaseless pour these heart-drawn sighs, 
Languish till death, nor see their faces more ? — 
The loved and lost ! Will no sweet power restore 
No pitying Heaven, one moment to my eyes 



SORROWS OF THE HIGH-BORN. 141 

Their sainted forms ! nor stem the griefs that rise, 
Threatening- to 'whelm me in the tempest's roar, 
E'er since first cast on this bleak mortal shore ; 
Death-doomed if one stay not my destinies. 
Need have I that He temper the rude blast 
To my shorn joys — and pour no earthly balm 
On the bow'd spirit's wounds — to others calm, 
In semblance — patient, weeping o'er the past : 
A penance all too great — if He who appears 
Ready to save— I see not through these tears." 

The death of this accomplished lady's brother, 
Philip le Beau, to whom she had been affectionately 
attached from her infancy ; the early loss of her 
consort, Prince Juan, followed by that of her only 
son, may sufficiently account for the mournful tone, 
and the expression of deep melancholy which per- 
vade these short but touching effusions of a gentle 
and sensitive mind ; yet one capable of directing 
the reins of empire. 

That the Flemish idiom, originally nearly the 
same as the pure German or tudesque, is sufficiently 
antique, would appear from its having been spoken 
by the first dynasty of kings of France, by many of the 
second, and by its having been the native tongue of 
Charlemagne himself. * Men connected with affairs 
of state were compelled to speak two languages, 
the Roman and the German. The latter only fell 
into desuetude at the commencement of the third 
race in France, and the Roman became the language 
both of the court and of the people. There remain 

* Recherches historiques et Utteraires, De Bast. Gand. 1815. 



142 



OTHER ANTIQUE SPECIMENS. 



nevertheless, a number of literary monuments, 
which show what the ancient Flemish idiom was ; 
but we can only afford to give a specimen from a 
war-song, composed on the defeat of the Normans 
in the year 885. 

" Eenen Koning weet ik, " I know a certain king-, 

Hy lieet heer Lodewyk, Lord Louis is his name, 

Die geerne God dient, Who willingly serves God, 

Wyl God het hem loont. And God rewards him well. 

Kind, was hy vaderloos, When he an orphan child, 

Dit was hem zeer boos nadeelig." Heaven let no harm betide him." 

The author of this song, we learn from the 
" Soirees historiques " of M. Van Wyn, was a native 
of the province of Hainault, where the Teutonic, or 
tudesque, was still spoken in the twelfth century ; 
and St. Norbert preached in this language at 
Valenciennes about the same period. The minstrel 
next informs us how God, wishing to try the faith 
of king Louis III., permitted the invasion of the 
Normans. At length, resolved to put a stop to their 
devastations, the bard is inspired to rouse the king 
to arms, and the monarch proceeds to harangue his 
soldiers : 

" Lodewyk, mynen Koning. " Up Louis, my brave king, 
Help myne lieden ! Assist my war-song now. 

Dan sprak luyd, Then spoke the good king loud, 

Lodewyk den goeden : Be of good cheer, my friends, 

Troost u, gezellen ! My relations in need ! 

Myne noodverwanten ! Here God has sent me to you." 

Hier zond ny God." 



FAMOUS SONG OF ROLAND. 



143 



It would have been curious to compare this 
fragment with the famous song of Roland, so long 
discussed, but now unfortunately lost. The marquis 
de Paulmy, indeed, declares that he discovered 
some fragments in the old romancers, and he in 
fact composed several couplets, which he gave out 
as relics of a poem so celebrated during the middle 
ages. Perhaps a better title to originality has been 
advanced by the comte de Tressan, who rests it 
upon the tradition yet current among the people of 
the Pyrenees, and copied, from word of mouth, by 
the marquis de Viviers-Lansac, He thus transferred 
them into modern French. 

O Roland ! honneur de la France, 
Que par toi mon bras soit vainqueur ! 
Dirige le fer de ma lance 
A percer le front ou le cceur 
Du fier ennemi qui s'avance. 

Que le sang coulant a grands Hots 
De ses flancs ou de sa visiere, 
Bouillonne encore sur la poussiere, 
En baignant les pieds des chevaux ! 
O Roland ! honneur de la France, &c. 

The works of Jacques Van Maerlant, — the father 
of Flemish national poetry, are composed in nearly 
the same idiom that is spoken at this day, and 
display an elevated genius, lively fancy, and ele- 
gance of taste. He was a native of Damme, in 
Flanders ; and was followed by the epic poet Van 
Heelu, who commemorated the exploits of Jean, 
first duke of Brabant ; and the didactic writer 



144 LITERARY MEN OF OLD FLANDERS. 



Gerard Van Lienhout, whose poem on the natural 
history of the universe, contains many beautiful and 
noble passages, not unworthy the Roman Lucretius. 
Several learned Germans have recently enriched 
their language with the works of the early Flemish 
poets ; the number of whom, during the revival of 
the fine arts in Italy and Flanders, scarcely yield 
to those of the painters themselves. The labors 
also of native editors like Willems, Delmotte, De 
Reiffenberg, Delepierre, Serrure, have tended not a 
little to bring them into farther estimation, which 
they so well deserve. Nor was it only the poets ; 
— during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the 
chroniclers and historians continued to enrich their 
native literature, — among whom, Van Velthem, De 
Klerk, and Jean de Weest, hold a high place. Cas- 
teleyn, surnamed by his contemporaries, the Excel- 
lent, from the equal beauty of his songs, his ballads, 
his dramas, and his critical treatises, — Corneille 
Van Ghistele, whose versions of Virgil, Terence, 
and Ovid gained him deserved applause, — J. B. 
Houwaert, who combined the most vivid imagina- 
tion with the greatest erudition, and the most ele- 
gant taste, with a host of names we could cite, of 
not less national celebrity, in every department of 
literature, — have enlarged those treasures of learn- 
ing, and of lighter productions, too many of which, 
owing to the devastations of war, and other political 
causes, have never yet seen the light. It would be 
difficult to mention a single town throughout 



CHURCH AND TOWER OF MECHLIN. 145 



Belgium, which does not contain in its archives, or 
in its history and traditions, sufficient evidence of 
the strong influence which poetry, as well as the 
sister arts, has exercised in every age over the 
national taste, the warm imagination, and the works 
of this enterprising and ingenious people. 

One of our first visits in Malines (Anglice Mechlin), 
as in other places, was to the metropolitan church. 
It is here dedicated to St. Rombold; was commenced 
in the tenth century, and not finally completed until 
the year 1452. In its structure it presents a speci- 
men of the old Gothic, extremely regular, harmo- 
nious in its parts, and well proportioned. Its exter- 
ior aspect, with its noble tower, antique time-worn 
ornaments, and sculptured facings, give it at once 
a sombre and majestic appearance, with which the 
interior corresponds by the extent of the aisles, and 
in particular, of the vaulted dome which in a single 
arch, supports the massive tower, 375 feet in 
height. From the beauty of its construction, the 
boldness of the principle, and the masterly execu- 
tion, this tower is justly considered among the 
finest specimens of Belgic architecture; it possesses 
two spacious staircases, consisting of 565 steps, and 
according to the plan originally adopted, would 
easily admit of being surmounted by a lofty spire. 
The belfry is on an equally extensive scale, and by 
the size of the bells the most powerful carillons are 
produced ; besides a clock, the four sides of which 
embrace 144 feet in circumference. It is well worth 

L 



146 



EXQUISITE TRUTH OF THE VIEW. 



while to see the interior, which for its finished me- 
chanism is extremely curious ; # and you may also 
enjoy the advantage, on a clear day, of an extensive 
and diversified prospect — and with a good glass, far 
over towns, country, and sea. We beheld this antique 
and picturesque edifice exactly as the artist has repre- 
sented it ; groups of people in their peculiar costume, 
of different classes, but who appeared confounded, 
like ants or atomies, from its majestic summit. The 
tower is of more modern structure than the body of 
the building, and has a simple and rustic air. The 
exquisite perspective gives force to the truth of the 
delineation. 

The high altar of marble is surmounted with 
three noble figures, the work of Faydherbe ; and 
the splendid silver coffer, containing the relics of 
the saint, constructed on occasion of the jubilee in 
1825, is deposited within the altar. The rich 
sculpture round the choir ; the tombs of the arch- 
bishops, by the same artist, and by Vervoort ; and 
of a number of others, distinguished in the civic 
annals ; and near them a genius seen weeping, by 
a French sculptor, are all executed in tolerably 

* A tradition is yet current of a report having been raised during 
the night that the great tower was on fire, which gave rise to a saying 
not very complimentary to the sagacity of the good people of Ma- 
lines. On flocking together, and the engines appearing with every 
preparation, to extinguish the fire, it was discovered that the illusion 
was produced by the effect of the moon's rays reflected through 
the Gothic open work ; when some Belgian wag observed, that iC the 
wise men of Malines had tried to extinguish the moon." 



REAL CHARACTER OF VANDYKE. 147 

good taste. In the centre of the choir is the com- 
munion table, very beautifully formed and richly 
sculptured, like the high altar in marble; and 
round the sides are some scripture-pieces — a St. 
Luke, painted by A. Janssens ; the Holy Trinity, 
by Blommaerts, besides a small collection of 
antiquities. The hall of the chapter, likewise con- 
tains a series of portraits of the different archbishops 
of Malines. 

At length, however, we approached the two fine 
altars in the centre, one of which contains that 
noble specimen of Vandyke, "Christ on the Cross," 
which has been restored to Belgium from the 
Musee at Paris ; and, with regard to every attri- 
bute of art, it appeared fully worthy the genius of 
that great master. " This, perhaps," says Sir J. 
Reynolds, " is the most capital of all his works, in 
respect to the variety and extensiveness of the 
design, and the judicious disposition of the whole. 
In the efforts which the thieves make to disengage 
themselves from the cross, he has successfully 
encountered the difficulty of the art; and the 
expression of grief and resignation in the virgin is 
admirable. This picture upon the whole may be 
considered as one of the first pictures in the world, 
and gives the highest idea of Vandyke's powers ; it 
shows that he had truly a genius for history- 
painting, if it had not been taken off by portraits. 
The coloring of this picture is certainly not of the 
brightest kind ; but it seems as well to correspond 

l 2 



148 PICTORIAL SPECIMENS OF THE CATHEDRAL. 



with the subject as if it had the freshness of Ru- 
bens. 5 ' 

Another fine composition, representing the 
Annunciation, is from the hand of Coxie, called the 
Raphael of the Low countries. Between these two 
altars and the choir are seen two pieces of sculpture, 
from the chisel of Faydherbe ; the columns are 
enriched with figures of the twelve apostles, by 
Colin, and by the brothers. Van Milder. The 
chaire de verite, or pulpit, was carved by Boeck- 
steyns, representing St. Paul's conversion, — the 
fallen saint and his horse ; farther enriched by the 
famous carver and sculptor, Van Geel. In the 
side naves, we saw another collection of pictures, 
representing the history of St. Rombold. They 
were painted by Lens, on occasion of another great 
jubilee in 1775, assisted by Herreyns Verhaegen, 
Croquart, Peiy, and De Halt. The angel seen 
conducting St. Rombold, and the latter exhorting 
a crowd of workmen, are nobly executed by Lens, 
and worthy his efforts to regenerate the old Flemish 
school. Other specimens are not without merit, in 
particular St. Rombold receiving his mission from 
Pope Stephen II. The same in the act of repri- 
manding a workman ; the saint found dead ; and 
the conversation between St. Rombold and St. 
Gommaire ; the three first by Herreyns ; and the 
fourth, the chef d'oeuvre of Verhaegen. Again, we 
observed a few of superior execution in the side 
chapels, among others an interesting scripture- 



FROM MALINES TO ANTWERP. 



149 



piece by Quellyn — the Adoration of the shepherds, 
and another excellent one by Crayer, in the chapel 
of the Virgin. Near the grand entrance, no one 
can pass unnoticocUthe two fine groups, executed 
by Faydherbe ; the whole portal is a fine imitation 
of the high altar, and it is surmounted by three 
figures from the chisel of R Van Geel. The figure 
of a Christ beautifully cut in ivory, adorns one of 
the altars of the smaller chapels ; and this church 
may boast one of the richest collections of massy 
ornaments and plate connected with the service of 
Catholic worship. 

The road by which the railway passes from 
Malines to Antwerp, continued to give evidence, on 
all sides, of the constant attention and unwearied 
industry of all classes, in regard to the cultivation 
of the soil. Even close to the towns and villages, 
we observed the mechanics, — and the best opera- 
tives in other labors, we uniformly find the most 
perfect in gardening and agriculture, — busily 
engaged on their little cottage-grounds ; in other 
parts, on the hop-grounds, trimming the vines 
over their walls, — carefully weeding the growing 
crops of rye, beet, or linseed ; and as evening 
advanced, we saw different groups, both of field 
laborers and mechanics reposing, after their toils, 
seated before their doors, conversing with that 
cheerfulness and ease which showed a certain sense 
of independence and freedom. Some of them 
would offer good studies to the Teniers and Ostades 



150 



FORMER TOURISTS. 



of their day, as we saw them in the calm evening 
sunset, with an expanding landscape around us, 
and the towers of Antwerp in the distance. As we 
marked their growing shadows on the plain, we 
turned to the pages of Wordsworth and South ey, 
which so exquisitely describe the scene. Groups 
of women and children seated in the open air, 
attired in their antique and quaint costume, busily 
engaged in plying their respective labors, with that 
air of vivacity and resignation mingled, which make 
you love them as you pass by, — presented another 
characteristic variety in Belgian cottage life, which 
often greets the eye and cheers the heart, of the 
early morning and late evening traveller. 

et Dear honest race, though now we meet no more. 
One last long look on what we were before, 
Our first kind greetings, and our last adieu, 
Drew tears from eyes unused to weep with you." 



CHAPTER IX. 



Antwerp — Historical Sketch — Naval and Commercial Fame — Sufferings 
under Philip II. and the Duke of Alba — Memorable Defence — Its City 
Capitulation — Treaties, &c. — View of Trade and Commerce — Na- 
tional Customs — Interior of St. Paul's Church — Paintings and other 
Objects of Art— The Town Hall— The Citadel— House of Rubens, 
&c. 

The early traditionary history of a Belgian city like 
Antwerp, is that of Bruges, as we have given it, and 
also of most others ; and we pass at once to the more 
interesting events which marked the fortunes of this 
once splendid fortress, — the " sea Cybele," and an 
almost impregnable bulwark by land, in the middle 
ages. The heritage successively of kings of the 
French till the tenth century ; of the dukes of 
Brabant, under whom it rose into importance, 
repulsed the Normans, became the mart for the 
booty of the sea-pirates, from plundered Britain, 
or won upon the high seas, it continued to 



152 



ITS ANCIENT REPUTATION. 



flourish, till it fell into the withering grasp of 
modern Spain and Austria. In this also it 
resembled Bruges, that, from being enemies, the 
Normans, and other invaders, soon became friends 
and merchants, though at the expense of the rest 
of the world. In the eleventh century, the herring 
fisheries, and the gradual commerce to which they 
gave rise, produced so marked an influence, that 
in the ensuing age entire fleets were equipped and 
prosecuted an extensive trade to the east, to the 
different European ports, and in particular to Spain 
and Portugal. Internal trade and manufactories 
of various kinds, with admirable skill in the inge- 
nious and useful arts, carried the reputation and 
prosperity of Antwerp into every country; nor was 
any city and its subject towns more formidable on 
the ocean or in the field, insomuch that foreign 
powers were extremely desirous of recruiting their 
armies from Brabant and Flanders, distinguished 
for martial spirit; and among whose youth in 
the middle ages, chivalry was a favorite pursuit. 
The popular motto selected at the tournament or 
in the day of battle, was — " let each now think of 
her he loves." 

Commerce and liberty are almost reciprocal 
terms ; and when to these we add the revival of 
the arts, the reformation, the spread of science, the 
superior knowledge which confers power — whether 
intellectual, moral, or of mere brute force — we 
shall be at no loss for the causes which raised the 



TRUE FAME OF BELGIUM. 



153 



free dominion of Antwerp to a pitch of wealth and 
luxury always favorable to the development of 
literature and the fine arts. Its architectural 
genius, in particular, shone resplendent during the 
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,, when it pro- 
duced those grand examples which still attest its 
superiority, and sent forth its master-minds into 
every civilized city of modern Europe. It is impos- 
sible for a stranger, to behold for the first time the 
cathedrals, palaces, and town-houses of that period ; 
the vastness, solidity, and magnificence, combined 
with simplicity, which characterise those of 
Antwerp, without surprise and admiration, how, 
in so brief a lapse of time, in seasons of tumult, 
civil and political conflicts, a single city of mer- 
chants could exhibit, amidst comparative European 
barbarism, so noble a spectacle of the magical 
results of free trade and self-government. Nor had 
it less effect on the productions of intellect, — on 
the refined spirit, the buoyant character, the taste, 
and opulence of this favored people. In its poetry, 
music, painting, its schools, theatres, halls of 
rhetoric, it kept pace with Italy, and supplied Eng- 
land and France with a succession of able masters 
who became the favorites of courts, and produced 
a new era in the cultivation and more general 
diffusion of a love of letters ; and while some 
raised princely palaces and lordly mansions, others 
decorated them with their paintings ; and a third 
made the halls resound with strains of delightful 



154 AGE OF CHARLES V. PHILIP II. 

minstrelsy.* In mechanical science also, and in 
the various trades and professions depending upon 
it, Antwerp rose into rapid and well-deserved 
celebrity, and was early resorted to by foreigners 
for the purposes of traffic, and acquiring a know- 
ledge of new and improved processes, as in 
polishing and cutting diamonds, painting on glass, 
the new carillons, fine lace, tapestry, dyes ; while 
to increase its taste and commerce, the discovery 
of America, and the decay of several great Italian 
cities, gave a new and unexpected impulse. 

The reign of Charles V., while it conferred 
greater stability on some of its laws and institutions, 
restricted the privileges and exhausted the wealth 
of the merchants of Antwerp ; and Philip II., by 
his bigotry and cruelty, sacrificed its liberties to a 
despotic clergy, and that destructive edict, which 
gave them the power of reducing every people to 
the same level of political and religious degradation. 
The establishment of the inquisition, and the mili- 
tary despotism of Alva, carried the sufferings of 
the unhappy people of Antwerp to their climax ; 
and the Council of blood, as it was justly termed, 
destroyed, with reckless ferocity, the noblest, the 
most wealthy, the most worthy and innocent. 
Even the burgomaster, Van Shattan, his relatives 
and friends, were not spared ; their property was 



* Guicciardini also acknowledges the obligations of Italy to Flemish 
musicians. 



DEVASTATIONS OF ALVA. 



155 



confiscated ; and they fell, like felons or murderers, 
by the hands of the common executioner. 

It was not till he had almost deprived the 
Netherlands of its best and noblest citizens, — till 
upwards of 18,000 inhabitants had perished on the 
scaffold, that Alva was recalled, when he returned 
to Spain, gorged with plunder, and loaded with the 
execrations of the people. On the fatal 3rd of 
November, J 576, it was sacked during three days 
by the Spanish soldiery ; churches, palaces, and 
private mansions, were plundered, numbers of 
citizens perished in the Scheld ; the losses were 
estimated at 2,000,000 golden crowns, and splendid 
monuments and works participated in the general 
destruction. In 1583, the duke of Alen^on and 
Anjou, who had been created duke of Brabant, in 
the view of rendering himself absolute in the Low 
countries, had the ingratitude and audacity to 
attack the city, which he had bound himself to 
protect, and in the guise of peace, surprised and 
took military possession of the place. The citizens 
and people, however, flew to arms, the French 
were driven from the streets and ramparts, the 
cannon was turned against the enemy, and the 
duke with difficulty escaped to Fermonde ; and in 
1584 died, it is supposed, of chagrin, at Chateau 
Thierry, despised and detested by all parties and 
religious persuasions, for his duplicity and cow- 
ardice. 

In the year 1584, Antwerp sustained a siege of 



156 



MEMORABLE DEFENCE. 



fourteen months by the famous duke of Parma, 
during which the besieged behaved with the utmost 
gallantry, and exhausted, in their defence, all the 
resources of the military art. The Scheld was 
closed, their communication with Zealand cut off, 
and their last hope was the destruction of the 
Spanish works on the bridge. Assisted by an 
Italian engineer, Giambelli, they constructed a 
number of fire ships, and made a desperate attack, 
with these infernal machines, which presented the 
strange spectacle of vast masses of flame rushing 
down the river directly against the terrific barrier 
which had cost immense toil and money to raise. 
The prince and his army were struck aghast ; soon 
the entire river appeared a sheet of flame ; far and 
wide, the city, the camp, the least objects on the 
enormous bridge, in the fleet, and in the forts, 
grew distinct as at noon-day, and the illumination 
of the surrounding country is described as grand in 
the extreme, contrasted with the murky blackness 
of the sky. One of the ships burst with a fearful 
crash, before it gained the intended point ; the 
prince and his officers rushed to give orders at the 
bridge ; and at that instant another report was 
heard ; the bridge of boats was forced ; and one of 
the fire ships struck the escoccades. Still undis- 
mayed, Parma continued on the spot, and must 
have perished had not his officers removed him ; 
for scarcely had he reached the bank when a third 
machine blew up. The bridge now wholly gave 



EXERTIONS ON BOTH SIDES. 



157 



way; the escoccade was shattered, and with its 
machinery the men were seen blown into the air. 
The marquis Rouvais and a number of distinguished 
officers perished; the waters, forced from their bed, 
rushed into the forts ; and the earth trembled as 
with an earthquake. The prince himself was 
struck senseless ; two of his generals were severely 
w T ounded ; and it was thought that if the Zeeland 
fleet had arrived at that moment, the beleaguered 
city would have succeeded in raising the siege. But 
now, in their extremity, devoured at once by the 
sword and by famine, the citizens had recourse to 
the means adopted by those at Leyden, which, at 
the eleventh hour snatched the place from destruc- 
tion. This was to cut through the immense dyke, 
and inundate the whole plain up to the very walls 
of Antwerp. But the prince was in possession of 
the counterdyke of Kouwenstein, and it was neces- 
sary to the garrison to obtain the temporary com- 
mand of it. To attain this object one of the most 
desperate and well-sustained attacks ever recorded 
was commenced on this point ; the battle raged 
throughout the night and day, — at the close of 
which the confederates were driven into the city, 
with the loss of 3,000 men. Another powerful 
vessel was next constructed, boldly entitled the 
End of the War. It resembled an armed floating 
citadel ; was directed against the enemy's fortifica- 
tions, but most unfortunately it ran aground, and 



158 



NUMBER OF INHABITANTS. 



the governor, Philip de Marnix, lord of Aldegonde, 
was at length reduced to capitulate. 

In April, 1609, a treaty was entered into for twelve 
years between Belgium and the United Provinces, 
which was signed at Antwerp. After the battle of 
Ramilies, it fell to the duke of Marlborough, was 
taken by the French in 1746, and restored to Aus- 
tria by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle in 1784. 
Subsequently to the French revolution, it was 
frequently contested for by these powers, but con- 
tinued in possession of the former till 1815, when 
it was surrendered by the celebrated Carnot to 
the British troops under the command of General 
Graham. At the general peace, Antwerp, as is well 
known, was apportioned, with the rest of Belgium, 
to William I. to form part of the kingdom of the 
Netherlands, till, having undergone another revo- 
lution, and another memorable siege, it constituted 
part of an independent kingdom which was offered 
to Leopold I. " Roi des Beiges" on the 21st of 
July, 1831. 

In the early part of the 16th century, Antwerp 
numbered upwards of 2,000,000 inhabitants ; was 
the greatest manufacturing town in Europe, and 
the general mart of the Hanse towns, and the 
republics of Italy. They were more celebrated as 
factors and bankers than as merchants ; for they 
had carriers in Genoa and Venice, who brought 
here their produce from the India trade by way of 
the Red Sea, Egypt, and Alexandria, previous to 



TRADE AND COMMERCE. 



159 



the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope. During 
the bitter days of her persecutions, Antwerp, which 
had found a market for her linen, carpets, and cloths 
in England enriched that country likewise by an 
immense immigration of the industrious classes, who 
carried with them the elements and materials of 
fresh wealth and prosperity. One of the quays was 
early known as the English, and the street where 
their Exchange was situated, is still known as the 
Englesche Beurs. A number of British merchants 
also visited the city to exchange the productions of 
their soil for the manufactures of the Flemings. In 
the time of Charles V. the port was so thronged 
with vessels, that separate fleets were obliged to 
touch in the Scheld before there was room for their 
admission to discharge their cargoes. Out of a po- 
pulation at that period of 200,000, the proportion 
belonging to the useful arts was almost incredible. 
There were 350 painters ; 300 silversmiths and 
jewellers ; 600 vessels entered the port daily, while 
2500 lay at anchor before the city. The land 
carriage from France and Germany was propor- 
tionably great ; six hundred millions of florins was 
the average circulation yearly, and the amount of 
imposts was not less than two millions. 

The history of the trade and commerce, and the 
accumulation of property, in this enterprising city 
would in itself form an interesting work ; the feasts 
and galas given by the great citizens rivalled those 
of the proudest courts ; and on one occasion Charles 



160 



SAYINGS OF CHARLES V. 



V. was sumptuously entertained at the table of M. 
Daems. And, at the close, the magistrates and 
other citizens who had advanced the monarch large 
sums, threw into a fire of cinnamon a bond for 
200,000 ducats, declaring that it was more than 
cancelled by the honor he had conferred upon 
them. " My friends/' replied this truly magnani- 
mous prince, (t the nobles pillage me, the literary 
men instruct me, but the merchants enrich me." 
On another occasion, the town of Mechlin sent a 
a deputation to this great city, composed of 326 
horsemen attired in fine satin and velvets richly 
embroidered, those of Brussels exceeded 340 
equally well equipped, attended by seven triumphal 
chariots, and eighty carriages ; an astonishing 
number at a period when they were rarely seen in 
other states. Afterwards, when the son of their 
favorite emperor, Charles V. visited the city, they 
spent not less than 130,000 gold crowns, though it 
failed to soften the ferocious bigotry and cruelty of 
the tyrant in whose honor it was lavished. 

The Antwerpers had other and more secret 
enemies ; Amsterdam eagerly sought its ruin, and 
contemporary history informs us that the Prince of 
Orange, Frederick Henry, threatened to subdue 
them so effectually that they should never recover 
their former prosperity and fame. Accordingly, in 
the treaty of Munster, on the 30th of January, 1648, 
it was stipulated, in favor of the Dutch, that the 
Scheld should be closed ; nor was it till the French 



POLITICAL CHANGES. 



161 



revolution, and the treaty concluded at the Hague 
in 1795, that it was again opened ; when its com- 
merce had been almost effectually destroyed. 
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and other towns, rose into 
wealth and distinction upon its ruins, and beheld 
the object of their jealous fears shorn of its ancient 
strength and grandeur, while the rich argosies, 
from which they had shut her out, supplied an 
active internal trade, and opened the way to new 
ships and colonies. But the men of Antwerp were 
at least as wise in their generation as their enemies, 
and adopted the best policy they could — that of 
following the wealth and commerce which had 
deserted them ; numbers of eminent citizens emi- 
grated to Holland, where they found an asylum 
from fanatical and political persecution ; where they 
realised fortunes, and, becoming permanently 
settled, dealt a fresh blow at the prosperity of their 
native city. These events wrought a marked change 
in the disposition, habits, and mode of conducting 
business of the Antwerpers ; economy took the place 
of a liberal affluence ; the old public spirit had 
received its death-blow ; gradual saving and accu- 
mulation, opposed to the general and civil interests, 
narrowed the sphere of enterprise and the amount 
of circulation, and Antwerp slowly adapted itself to 
new circumstances, to another and inferior state of 
things. Upon the incorporation with France, and 
subsequently with Holland, a gleam of its former 
prosperity shone upon the crumbling walls and 

M 



162 CONNECTION WITH HOLLAND. 

deserted port of the citadel of the sea ; it found 
colonies to take off its manufactures at advanced 
prices, and, by its junction with Holland in particu- 
lar, it seemed to behold once more the El Dorado 
of the East. It offered, in fact, the best depot for 
the shipping of goods, and a grand market for 
colonial produce ; so that, in the three years suc- 
ceeding the great panic in England of 1825, a suffi- 
cient number of hands could not be found for 
unloading the immense arrivals of goods. With 
reason, for a time at least, may the commercial and 
industrious classes of Antwerp, if not of Belgium 
itself, deplore the event of the revolution which bade 
its new visions of prosperity vanish — an unsubstan- 
tial dream. Antwerp, nevertheless, and Belgian 
enterprise in general, have done much, and are 
doing more, to obviate the evils of the sudden change 
and the circumstances in which it has placed them; 
fresh channels for the national manufactures are 
the incessant study of a legislature at once popular 
and closely identified with the interests of the 
people ; and it is not improbable that the course of 
events may rather favor than retard the acquisition 
of advantages so just and so desirable. It has 
already that of being in the vanguard of European 
science and civilization ; if it can only consolidate 
and extend the institutions which it has, at so much 
sacrifice, acquired. 

The people of Antwerp, are remarkable for their 
attachment to former customs and manners ; and 



ANTIQUE CUSTOMS. 



163 



their amusements still partake of their original 
character. Archery,, in particular, maintains its 
ascendency ; both without the city, we were told, 
and throughout the province, a pole is affixed to 
the ground, and on the summit is placed an iron 
grate which supports rows of wooden birds, which 
appear by distance to be reduced to the size of 
larks. On holidays and Sunday evenings, the 
archers assemble to shoot, and prizes are distributed 
to the most successful. The flying of carrier pigeons, 
the antiquity of which vouches for its utility in 
other times, is still kept up, and prizes are awarded 
to those whose pigeons reach home in the least 
possible time. They are sent to Paris, London, and 
more distant cities, and, among other correspon- 
dence, is that carried on for the state of prices to 
give early intelligence of the markets to dealers in 
stock and foreign funds. 

The church of St. Paul, or the Dominicans, 
which we first visited, contains some excellent 
paintings ; one or two by Rubens, and another by 
his great pupil, Vandyke. This edifice, constructed 
in 1679, is considered by good Catholics to have 
miraculously escaped the ravages of civil tumults 
and foreign wars, and is proportionally more rich 
in ornaments of every kind. The chief altars in 
particular are of exquisite workmanship ; formed of 
white marble, and elaborately as well as profusely 
decorated with all the ingenuity of that more splen- 
did and costly time. A fine perspective is produced 

M 2 



164 



INTERIOR OF ST. PAUL. 



by the side aisle, and confessionals in the repetition 
of figures, the exquisite carvings, surmounted by 
copies of Rubens, and his own grand picture at the 
extremity. The effect too of the sun light in the side 
chapel is peculiarly striking, as well as the picture 
of the Virgin over the side altar. Upon first entering 
the enclosure of this magnificent and extensive pile, 
we behold the statues of the twelve apostles, and 
those of the four evangelists. There is also what 
is called a representation of mount Calvary, 
exhibiting in a rude sketch the wild grandeur of a 
scene crowded with patriarchs, prophets, and 
apostles, raised by an artificial eminence against the 
walls of the church ; but in barbarous taste. Below 
the rock is seen the tomb of Christ, containing an 
image shrouded in superb silk, and surrounded by 
a vivid picture of purgatory. The walls are also 
decorated with bas-reliefs, exhibiting the different 
events of the passion and crucifixion of the 
Redeemer. The first pictures which struck us on 
entering the western porch were the " Seven Acts 
of Mercy and Benevolence," by Teniers the father ; 
and Christ walking towards Emmaus with the two 
disciples, by Quellyn. Other scripture pieces by 
Van Baelen, Franck, De Vos, and Voet are favorable 
specimens of those masters ; and one of Christ 
praying in the garden, by Teniers, is excellent in 
point of composition and coloring. We passed over 
some others till we came to the Vandyke — a Christ 
bearing his cross, a picture in several respects very 



PAINTINGS, ETC. 



165 



like the works of Rubens ; and more than usually 
so the figure with his back towards the spectator, 
which, like the entire work, is beautifully and cor- 
rectly drawn. 

Two good paintings by Jordaens, in the manner 
of Rubens, next met our eye ; but without allowing 
ourselves to be detained by these and a few other 
masters, my friend directed my attention to a 
specimen, by some considered the chef d'ceuvre of 
Rubens,* the Flagellation. This picture, though 
admirably painted, is disagreeable to look at ; the 
black and bloody stripes are marked with too much 
fidelity, and some of the figures are awkwardly 
scourging with the left hand.f There is <( an 
Adoration of the Shepherds," also attributed to 
Rubens, but there is nothing in the picture by which 
his manner can be with certainty recognised ; there 
are parts which were certainly not painted by him, 
particularly the drapery of the virgin. An altar- 
piece by Sallaert, represents a council of bishops, 
and corresponding with it is another by Grayer. The 
body of the Saviour is supported by the Magdalen, 
St. John, and angels ; and a third, of St. Dominic, 
by the same artist, are works of superior merit. 
The Disciples of Emmaus, by Quellyn, and a copy 
of Caravaggio, St. Dominic distributing the rosary 
to the people, by De Quartemont, also deserve notice. 

* Born at Cologne, in the year 1577, and died at Antwerp on the 
30th of May, 1640. 

t Sir J. Reynolds. 



166 CHURCH OF THE AUGUSTINS. 



The original was transferred to the gallery of Vienna 
by Joseph II. during his visit to the Low countries, 
who undertook to have a copy taken of it at his 
own expense. The painting over the grand altar 
was made at Rome by M. Cels, a modern artist, 
who appears to no disadvantage, though surrounded 
by chefs d'oeuvres of the art. The marble altar was 
the work of Verbruggen, as well as the noble statue 
of St. Paul, by which it is surmounted, and both 
were presented by the learned Ambrose Capello, 
of the order of Dominicans, and who became bishop 
of Antwerp. Besides these we noticed two fine 
marble statues, one of St. Rose, by A. Quellyn, and 
the other a Virgin in grief, by De Baurschiet. 

The organ of this church, as well as the interior 
decorations of every kind, is a flattering proof of 
the good taste, no less than the wealth, of the 
Dominicans ; it is of grand compass, and nothing can 
be finer than the effect of a full choir of anthems 
swelling through the lofty aisles. 

We now entered the church of the Augustins to 
seethe altar-piece of the Virgin and Child, surrounded 
by saints, a genuine production of Rubens, which 
displays singular skill in the grouping of an immense 
number of figures, and is considered by Sir J. 
Reynolds as one of the most considerable of his 
scripture pieces. " I confess," he says, " I was so 
overpowered with the brilliancy of this picture whilst 
I was before it, and under its fascinating influence, 
that I thought I had never before seen so great 



ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA. 



167 



powers exerted in the art. It was not till I was 
removed from its influence that I could acknowledge 
any inferiority in Rubens to any other painter what- 
ever." In the figure of St. George the painter, as 
was so very frequently done both by Italian and 
Flemish masters, introduced a portrait of himself; 
it prevailed before the time of Da Vinci, of Mem- 
ling, and the Van Eycks. The Ecstasy of St. 
Augustine by Vandyke, and so celebrated on the 
continent, is a singular specimen for its want of the 
usual correctness and chasteness of that great mas- 
ter. It disappointed the expectations of Sir Joshua ; 
but he at once accounted for part of its deficiency 
from the colors having suffered some change, and 
being no longer as Vandyke left them. The head 
of the elderly woman is a portrait of the artist's 
mother, and is one of the best drawn in the picture, 
as the angel seen sitting on a cloud is the best of 
the entire group. Owing to the injury or decay 
of the colors, the boy with a sceptre is out of all 
harmony with the sky ; the picture is thus wanting 
in effect from the loss of light ; and the two angles 
consequently form small masses of equal mag- 
nitude. 

This is not the sole specimen which shows there 
was something unfortunate with regard to Vandyke's 
coloring, or that time and accident have been less 
lenient to him than to his great and fortunate 
master, Rubens. The matyrdom of St. Apollonius 
by Jordaens is admirable in many respects, but the 
fore-shortening of the horse seen in the act of biting 



168 ST. CARLOS BORROMEUS. 

his knee, is not quite correct, though his horses 
were considered little inferior to those of Rubens-. 

In the church of St. Anthony of Padua we next 
saw a Dead Christ, ascribed, without merit to 
substantiate the attribute, to Vandyke, and a Virgin 
and Child appearing to St. Francis, by Rubens, of 
which Sir Joshua observes, without questioning their 
genuineness, " that the Virgin and Christ are in a 
wretched bad manner, and the characters are 
vulgar; that there is nothing excellent in the 
picture but the head of St. Francis." The church 
of St. Carlos Borromeus, called the Jesuit's, has a 
very handsome facade ; and was built from the 
designs, and under the direction of Rubens. He 
took proportionate pleasure in decorating this 
splendid temple, and scattered the riches of his art 
with a profuse hand. But fire, war, and the Icono- 
clasts appear to have formed a league against the 
most splendid emanations of the human mind in all 
times and ages ; maintaining the grand principle of 
dissolution and destruction against that of creation, 
its glory and its beauty, — and thus fared it with the 
divinest examples of the great masters of antiquity 
and their followers. Even the thunderbolt has spared 
not the genius and enthusiasm of years; and in 
17 18 it destroyed the edifice dedicated to the wisest 
and most humane of Christian philosophers, a man 
who devoted talent, wealth, and nobility to the 
elevation and the relief of his fellow-creatures of 
whatever class. All that escaped the conflagration 
was the tower, part of the fac-ade, the sacristy, and 



CHAPEL OF THE VIRGIN, ETC. 169 



the little chapel of Notre Dame. The splendid 
marbles imported from Italy ; the works of Rubens, 
the sculpture of Michael and of Cellini, golden vases, 
and of jasper and porphyry, fell an indiscriminate 
prey. Two pictures only were saved, and they were 
destined to decorate the gallery of Vienna. The 
ensuing year the church was rebuilt in its present 
form ; but sufficient of the antique remains to prove 
how good an architect as well as a painter was the 
Seignieur de Steens, — and in every branch. The 
fagade, however, did not appear to him imposing 
enough, and he constructed the succession of edifices 
nearly opposite, to prevent its being seen at too 
great a distance. But the decorations of the entab- 
lature were disposed in very bad taste by a Jesuit 
brother, charged with the direction of the new 
edifice. The chapel of the Virgin, abounding in 
rich marbles, possesses an altar-piece representing 
St. Simeon with the infant in his arms, in the act 
of raising his eyes to heaven in thankfulness for 
having lived to see the Saviour of the world — a good 
production by De Lin. The small pictures round 
the altar are from the hand of EL Van Baelen ; and 
below the windows are an Adoration of Shepherds 
by Van Loon, and the Annunciation of the Virgin 
by Vander Borght, which are also of superior merit. 

There are numerous other paintings and statues 
by artists of no mean merit ; the Assumption of the 
Virgin over the high altar by De Schut ; figures by 
Quellyn ; a beautiful piece by Seghers ; a statue of 



170 THE MUSEUM AND WORKS OF ART. 

the Virgin of Seven Griefs by Quellyn — the com- 
munion-table by the same — a splendid specimen by 
Grayer, and another by Vandyke's pupil Janssens, 
of the twelve apostles, are, with many, many more, 
included in the treasures of Rubens' favorite but 
unfortunate church. 

St. Andrew was founded, 1529, by the chapter 
of the cathedral, at the special instigation of one 
ever active in good and great works — Margaret, 
erroneously called of Austria. We saw a specimen 
of Quellyn, which has often been attributed, for its 
exceeding beauty and correctness, to Vandyke. A 
guardian angel is seen, covering a young man with 
a shield, launching its weapon against Vice and 
pleasure under the form of women of the world. 
The Disciples of Emmaus, by the same ; a copy of 
Rubens' Flagellation, and other pieces too numerous 
for mention, complete the possessions of this early 
founded and interesting church. On the south side 
we observed a mausoleum raised by some English 
ladies to the memory of Mary Stuart, and decorated 
with a portrait of that unfortunate princess ; which, 
for fine expression and harmony of colors, might 
be taken for a Vandyke. The high altar is by 
Verbruggen — the bas-reliefs are relics of the famous 
old abbey of St. Bernard. Numerous statues, and 
a finely carved pulpit by Van Hool render this edi- 
fice rich and grand in its illustrations. 

The museum, an academy of painting, is built on the 
site of the suppressed convent of Recollets in the rue 



OPINIONS OF SIR J. REYNOLDS. 



171 



des Fagots. Here, encased in glass, we saw the chair 
of Rubens — for in Antwerp his fame seems to meet 
you everywhere — once the president of the society ; 
and the richest collection of his and his great pupil's 
works now grace its walls. There are at least 
fifteen of the former, and six undoubted specimens 
of Vandyke ; besides other excellent specimens of 
Quentin Matsys, Floris, called the Flemish Raphael, 
and other pieces. These require only general men- 
tion ; but it is different with the former. The Dead 
Christ in the arms of the Virgin, by Rubens, is pro- 
nounced by Sir Joshua, to be one of his most studied 
pictures ; the Mary Magdalen weeping, is in the high- 
est style of beauty ; insomuch, that, it forms an ex- 
ception to the general rule of his superiority being 
confined to paintings on a great scale. The Virgin, 
holding an infant Jesus, and a Holy Family, are both 
inferior productions ; but again he shines forth in 
the Crucifixion between the two Thieves, a subject 
which he has handled in the most masterly manner. 
" The genius of Rubens," says Sir J. Reynolds, 
" nowhere appears to more advantage than here ; 
it is the most carefully finished picture of all his 
works. The whole is conducted with the most con- 
summate art ; the composition is bold and uncom- 
mon, with circumstances which no other painter had 
ever before thought of. It is here, and in such 
compositions, we properly see Rubens, and not in 
little pictures of Madonnas and Bambinos. I have 
dwelt longer on this picture than any other, as it 



172 



PRIVATE GALLERIES. 



appears to me to deserve extraordinary attention ; 
it is certainly one of the first pictures in the world 
for composition, coloring, and, what was not to be 
expected from Rubens, correctness of drawing." 

A St. Theresa, by the same artist, is also in his 
best manner, and the Trinity, Christ lying dead in 
the arms of God the Father, evinces great skill in 
drawing and foreshortening. The Adoration of the 
Magi is another of his grand composite pieces, in 
which he so much excels. The Virgin teaching St. 
Anne; the Communion of St. Francis; Christ 
showing his wound to St Thomas, have great 
merit • but they are unequal as works of art. The 
works of Vandyke consist of a Crucifixion ; St. 
Catherine, at the feet of Christ and St. Dominic, 
admirably drawn and colored, with a breadth of 
light preserved over the body of the Saviour, which 
forms a character of the most elegant kind. The 
Dead Christ on the knees of the Virgin is one of 
Vandyke's most chaste and beautiful specimens ; 
but its colors are faded. The expression of grief is 
wonderfully told ; and the same subject is repeated 
in a different manner — admirable for the beauty of 
the Virgin's head and the exquisite drawing of the 
Christ. The two others are portraits of Cesar 
Scaglia, and of Malderus, bishop of Antwerp ; exe- 
cuted with his usual graphic power and felicity. 
Some specimens of Seghers, Schut, Ambrose Franks, 
and Cornelius de Vos ; and the Death of Rubens, 
by Van Bree, a modern president of the Academy, 



PUBLIC EDIFICES. 



173 



possess nothing that calls for particular commend- 
ation. 

The private galleries in Antwerp are as numerous 
as they are well selected ; and far too extensive to 
enter into any analysis of them. A simple applica- 
tion to the proprietor is sufficient, without formal 
introductions, to gain admission, and, in cases where 
we happened to be unprovided with these, we never 
experienced the slightest difficulty. That of M. 
Steencruys, rue de Mai, is well and even curiously 
filled, not only with some good paintings, but 
with antiquities. Nor are those of De Pret, Van 
Cam, Baillie, Snyers, Herry, Geelhand, Ullens, 
Verhaegen, Weber, and Serigiers, without various 
and manifold attractions. There is also a Royal 
Society for the encouragement of the Fine Arts, 
patronised by the most eminent citizens, and under 
the protection of the king. A grand saloon for the 
exhibition both of Belgian and foreign art is opened 
once every three years, alternately with Ghent and 
Brussels. At the close, a committee superintends 
the selection of the best works, of which a lottery 
is formed for the benefit of distinguished pupils, 
and, being confined to subscribers, the plan is 
productive of good as well to the members as to 
the artists. M. Van Lancker's gallery, sold in 1835, 
showed the good taste and spirit with which private 
collections are formed in Antwerp, and the general 
enthusiasm which still prevails in regard to the 
arts. In the extent and beauty of its public edifices ; 
the size of its quays, bridges, and canals ; its river- 



174 



THE TOWN HALL, 



gates, iron bridge, magnificent docks and basins — 
the gigantic effort of Napoleon to make her the 
rival of England ; in her theatres, banks, club- 
houses, her gardens and public walks, few cities, 
even the capitals of extensive countries, can be 
placed in competition with the antique magnificence 
of the city of Rubens and Vandyke. 

The Hotel de Ville is here not to be compared 
with some others more antique and splendid in 
regard to extent or decorations, but the front is 
of very composite architecture. It consists of all 
the five orders, raised upon a sub-basement of the 
rustic, which forms the basis of the whole. The 
centre is elevated, and gives a commanding air to 
the inferior parts of the edifice ; it is supported by 
red marble columns, and decorated with a number 
of emblematical statues of white marble. In length 
it extends to 260 feet ; the foundation is of free 
stone, one of which bears the following inscription, 
" Senatus Anverpiensis in die 27 Februarii, anno 
natwitatis Cliristi, 1560. In fact this public edifice, 
as it now appears, was built upon the site of that 
burnt down in the sack of the town by the Spa- 
niards, in 1546, and was rebuilt in 1560. There is 
a picture preserved in the Bureau de VEtat civil, 
which forms the subject of this fearful event, when 
the lives as well as the property of a great and 
enlightened city, were for three days at the mercy 
of a fanatic and infuriated soldiery. 

The architect of the town hall of Antwerp, was 
C. de Orendt, more commonly known by the name 



LIBRARY, PUBLIC OFFICES, ETC. 175 



of Floris. Among the principal apartments through 
which we passed, we noticed the Biblioteque de la 
Ville, which contains a large and useful collection 
of books and manuscripts in various languages ; and 
it is open for the convenience of the public daily 
from one till five. The passport office is the 
depository of the passports of foreigners, received 
on their arrival, and returned upon application, 
copies of which were formerly taken, and a great 
deal of useless trouble occasioned, which is now very 
properly dispensed with. It was upon the turret 
of the town hall, that, during the continuance of 
the French dominion, a government telegraph was 
erected to convey the speediest intelligence to the 
head imperial quarters at Paris, or elsewhere, in 
the grand campaigns of struggling Europe ; and in 
particular, of Spain, when the jealousy and vigi- 
lance of Napoleon was specially directed towards 
England. The office is open for strangers from 
nine till half-past three. According to law, a 
notice of an intended marriage is required to be 
affixed on the town hall, for the space of fifteen 
days ; and this is tantamount to the publication of 
magisterial banns before marriage, although the 
ceremony is generally repeated by the priests in 
their respective districts. In Belgium, in fact, 
marriage is regarded merely in the light of a civil 
contract, though the parties are at liberty to give 
it the further sanction of religious obligation at 
their good pleasure. 



176 



CITADEL LAST SIEGE. 



From the town hall we proceeded to the citadel, 
a vast and magnificent pile, replete with historical 
associations, from former, as well as more modern 
events. It is composed of a series of bastions, 
which protect each other ; pentagonal in its form, 
and a mile in circumference, it contains barracks, 
a military parade, several wells, and casemates, or 
subterraneous passages. This formidable place 
was first begun by the duke of Alva, in 1567, from 
designs by the engineer Paciotti, who gave his 
name to one of the bastions ; and the other four 
were appropriately called after the tyrant, — 
Fernando, Toledo, 'Duke, and Alva, which they 
retain to this day. Few of the sieges it sustained, 
surpassed in gallantry the defence made by General 
Chasse, in 1832. The forts on each side the 
Scheldt being in possession of the Dutch, gave 
them a great advantage, only to be counteracted 
by employing a large force to blockade the mouth 
of the river, and a numerous army under Marshal 
Girard, exceeding 60,000 men, with an enormous 
train of artillery. The immense mortar called • 
the " Mortier Monstre" and which weighed not 
less than 15,0001b., was brought from Liege, and 
discharged bombs two feet in diameter, sufficient to 
destroy the strongest building on which they might 
fall. After a protracted but admirably conducted 
siege, the brave governor and his garrison were 
compelled to surrender to a force so overwhelming, 
— but not before 14090 metres of trenches had 



HOUSE OF RUBENS. 



177 



been opened, and 63,000 cannon balls fired at the 
citadel. The prince royal of France, and his bro- 
ther, the duke of Nemours, were present, and fre- 
quently took "their station in t he trenches, display- 
ing a coolness that would have done credit to the 
oldest veteran. 

The tribute of our next visit was paid to genius 
of a different kind, — all that remains of the palace- 
mansion of the princely-minded Rubens. His 
attachment to Antwerp is well known ; and on his 
return from his travels and long residence in 
England, he here raised a delightful and commo- 
dious dwelling-place for the close of his bright and 
fortunate career, surrounded by handsome grounds 
and gardens ; and here, inspired afresh by the splen- 
did models of art which he had collected, he contin- 
ued to produce many of those master-pieces which 
have enriched the churches, palaces, and private 
houses, of this celebrated city. We can now scarcely 
form an idea # of what this mansion once was ; 
a comparatively splendid ruin has usurped the 
social joy and grandeur of other days, — an involun- 
tary reverence, mingled with regret, steals over the 
spirit, — the imagination is busy with the scenes of 
the past ; and the vivid creations of his mind seem 
to start up before us. 

* A correct idea, however, may be formed from two rare prints in 
possession of M. De la Croix, — one representing the front of Rubens' 
house ; and the other, the court yard and gardens. 



N 



CHAPTER X. 

Advantages of Church -hours in Belgium — Cathedral of Notre Dame — 
Western Entrance — Opinions of Sir J. Reynolds — Anecdotes and 
Traits — Lofty and Courteous Character of Rubens — The High Altar 
— Paintings — Favorite of Sir J. Reynolds — Pictorial Policy of Na- 
poleon—Principal West Front — Works by various Artists — An Ex- 
traordinary Genius — Number of Institutions. 

It is always pleasant to a stranger or a tourist 
to visit public edifices, without the ceremony of an 
introduction, through a string of petty authorities 
and hangers on. Fortunately, the churches in 
Belgium are open from six in the morning till 
twelve at noon, and from half past four to six ; 
affording ample time for all to enter without asking 
any one's permission — a circumstance favorable for 
diffusing a love of the arts, if not of piety and men- 
tal repose. It was in this way we entered Notre 
Dame, the cathedral of Antwerp, " one of the 
grandest pieces of architecture," we perfectly agree 
with Sir Walter Scott, which Europe can show. 
The long-drawn aisles and lofty arches seem almost 
the work of demigods, so much does the art and 
toil bestowed surpass what modern times can 



CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE DAME. 179 



present. In point of extent alone, it is sufficient 
to excite the astonishment of the beholder ; — and 
when we talk of 500 feet in length, and 250 in 
breadth, including only the nave and aisles, we 
seem at once to approach the giant churches and 
castles of the middle ages. The height from the 
ground to the ceiling of the centre nave, is 360 
feet ; and 125 noble Gothic pillars, some of them 
twenty-seven feet in circumference, support this 
massive structure. Every other part corresponds 
in vastness and magnificence, — the lofty unrivalled 
tower,* — the nave with its triple row of aisles, 
the sweep of the sublime arches ; the grandeur 
of the altars constructed of pure marble, and 
the richly painted windows which cast their 
mellow subdued light over all. But when added 
to these, it is seen, as we beheld it, under the 
richly-varied and grand illumination of a set- 

* At the foot of the tower is seen the epitaph of the celebrated Queu- 
tin Matsys, commonly known as the blacksmith of Antwerp. Born at 
Antwerp in 1460, he abandoned the sledge hammer and the anvil, and 
became a suitor for the hand of the daughter of Floris, who was re- 
solved to bestow her only upon one of his own profession. The 
blacksmith, to place himself on a level with his rival, painted in secret 
day and night. The only moments of relaxation were passed in the 
society of her he loved. After intense labor, and many efforts, he at 
length succeeded in producing a picture with which the father was so 
much delighted that he instantly consented to make the lovers happy. 
An inscription under his portrait alludes to this incident, and describes 
him as having been transformed by love from Vulcan into Apelles. 
" Connubialis amor de Mulcibre fecit Apellem." 

He became a great painter, and is highly extolled by Sir Joshua Rey- 
nolds. 

N 2 



180 



FRONT OR WESTERN GATE. 



ting sun, the impression is indeed sublime, not ex- 
ceeded by any scene of the kind which we had ever 
witnessed. 

Entering by the front or western gate, we be- 
held a figure of our Saviour, the work of John 
Goethals, and one of his most successful efforts. 
The crucifix was cast out of the bronze statue of 
the tyrant Alva, who had nearly destroyed the city 
— a circumstance which gave rise to the just say- 
ing, which carries in it a retributive sting ; " D'un 
grand scelerat on a fait un Christ." The porch of 
black marble gives a fine relief to the statues, one 
on each side the gate, representing the great apos- 
tles St. Peter and St. Paul. Passing into the 
southern aisle, we read the epitaph of Ambrosio 
Capello, bishop of Antwerp, executed by Ver- 
bruggen, in 1676 ; and saw another specimen of the 
curiously carved pulpits, and some portraits painted 
b}^ Diepenbeck. The tabernacle representing the 
ark, of gilt brass, was designed by Verbruggen ; 
the outside, richly decorated with basso relievo, of 
considerable merit. The high altar-piece, by G. 
Herreyns, represents the Saviour breaking bread, 
when he sat at table with Cleophas and other dis- 
ciples, one of this artist's best performances. The 
Last Supper, painted on the window near the altar, 
is by Diepenbeck, and is worthy of notice. The de- 
scent from the Cross, in the south transept, the 
Visitation of the Virgin to Elizabeth, the Presenta- 
tion in the Temple, by Rubens, all are admirably exe- 



■ictor by Longman & C? Ruemoster Row October U840 



MASTER-PIECES OF PAINTING. 181 



cuted. Of the latter, it has been remarked by Sir 
Joshua Reynolds, — " This picture is admirable in- 
deed ; the head of the priest more especially, which 
nothing can exceed ; the expression, drawing, and 
coloring, are beyond all description, and as fresh 
as if the piece were just painted." 

In speaking also of the "Descent from the Cross," 
it is observed, by the same excellent artist and 
critic ; " the figure of Christ is one of the finest 
figures that ever was invented ; the hanging of the 
head on his shoulder, and the falling of the body 
on one side, give such an appearance of the heavi- 
ness of death, that nothing can exceed it." He 
adds, that the three Marys have more grace than 
Rubens generally bestowed on female figures ; and 
we were particularly struck with the beauty of one 
of these upon whose shoulder the foot of our Saviour 
seems to rest ; the face appears absolutely radiant 
with that sweetly resigned and heavenly expression, 
which seems to be caught by those around her, and 
most of all by the young woman at her side, who is 
gazing up at Christ, with a look of intense anxiety. 
It indeed stands out like a miracle of the art. It 
has been observed, that the mass of light proceeds 
from the white sheet, which Sir Joshua remarked 
was a bold attempt, and which few but Rubens 
would have ventured on, for fear of hurting the 
color of the flesh. There are, however, circum- 
stances connected with this picture, which render 
its compartments or auxiliary pictures even more 



182 



ANECDOTES. 



interesting. It is on record that the fraternity or 
corporation of Arquebusiers, transferred to Rubens a 
piece of ground on which he erected his mansion ; 
and that the agreement was that he should paint 
for them a full-length portrait of their patron saint, 
St. Christopher, who, to judge from his portrait, 
was to be represented by a man of gigantic stature, 
carrying an infant on his shoulder across a river. 
The painter, it is thought, not at all relishing the 
subject, determined to select another, and not only 
produced for them the grand picture of " The 
Descent from the Cross," but added to it a couple 
of compartments or doors, on one of which he 
painted the subject of the " Purification of the 
Virgin Mary," and on the other, that of the " Visi- 
tation." Still it would seem that the Arquebusiers 
or Sharpshooters, had greater confidence in their 
own judgment, than in the good taste of the painter; 
while they accepted the beautiful examples of his 
own choice, they insisted, it is said, on having a 
portrait of their patron saint after their own fashion, 
though Rubens artfully contrived to throw it into 
the shade. On the reverse of the two doors are 
the two pictures stipulated for so stoutly by the 
fraternity — one exhibiting the giant in his proper 
person, and the other, an old hermit carrying a 
lantern, with the intention of trusting nothing to a 
miracle, and lighting the saint safely across the 
river. 

If we are to believe also one of the many anec- 



TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 183 



dotes relating to this great painter, his pupil Van- 
dyke had his share in assisting to produce this 
singular, but finely executed work. It seems that 
during the absence of Rubens, while engaged upon 
it, the painting was accidentally thrown down, and 
received some serious injury. The students were 
alarmed, — Rubens would speedily return, — and in 
this exigency all turned their eyes to Vandyke, who 
at once set about restoring it to its former state. 
The parts that suffered were the cheek and chin of 
the Virgin, and the arm of the Magdalen. On his 
return, Rubens saw the change in a moment, and is 
said to have generously exclaimed, that he preferred 
his pupil's work to his own. There were few mas- 
ters, indeed, who, by their noble and estimable 
qualities, excited the respect and attachment of 
those around him, more than the prince-painter of 
Antwerp ; he was the least envied or maligned of 
any of his contemporaries ; he never cringed to the 
great, nor, in the zenith of his good fortune, treated 
his equals or inferiors with want of respect, appear- 
ing always on the same terms of familiar equality. 
During his travels and his residence in different 
cities, he evinced the same equanimity, the same 
liberal disposition and conciliatory manners ; and 
it was these qualities which raised him so high in 
the opinion and the confidence of the princes at 
whose courts he appeared, and led to his being se- 
lected by them as their special envoy in matters of 
the utmost delicacy and importance. He was con- 



184 INSTANCE OF GOOD FORTUNE. 



suited and honored in the same manner by the 
States-general, the courts of Spain, England, and 
France ; and, by his prudence and moderation, 
added to his engaging qualities, was considered to 
have been instrumental in bringing several secret 
or open quarrels, and difficult treaties, to a happy 
termination. His residence at the court of Charles 
I., and the numerous works with which he enriched 
his palaces, and the houses of the nobility, are 
matter of familiar history ; as well as the disposal 
of the greater part of his collection of medals, 
pictures, and antiques, amassed during his tra- 
vels, to the monarch's favorite, the duke of Buck- 
ingham. Rubens was twice married ; and the 
portraits of Isabella Brand and of Helen Fourmont, 
with those of the children, more than once formed 
some of the happiest subjects of the artist's compo- 
sitions. He lived to witness his eldest son chosen 
in his native city as secretary to the Privy Council ; 
but most of the other members of his family were 
young at the period of his decease. For some time 
previously he was unable to undertake large works, 
but he did not cease to occupy his mind with the 
same studies and pursuits. At the express desire 
of the magistrates, he furnished designs for bridges 
and other public edifices ; and on occasion of the 
visit of the cardinal, brother of Philip IV. of Spain, 
he prepared drawings of the triumphal arches and 
other decorations, engravings of which were made, 
and are still to be seen in a separate volume, but 



VARIOUS ARTISTS. 



185 



they are the last that issued from his ingenious and 
well-stored mind. He died at the age of sixty-four, 
and within five years was followed by his friend and 
companion, Wildens, who usually put in the land- 
scapes of his pictures, and resided with him. 

We next proceeded to the noblest monument 
which an artist could raise to the memory of a 
friend ; it is that to Moretus, the printer, over his 
epitaph, in the southern choir, — the picture of " the 
Resurrection." The subject, like the execution, 
may truly be said to adorn the tomb ; it is an ad- 
mirable production in point of composition and 
coloring; and the effect of terror in the counte- 
nances and attitudes of the soldiers partakes of the 
sublime. The Saviour is seen in the act of coming 
out of the sepulchre, arrayed in splendor — with all 
the spirit and power of life — and the figures are 
seen averting their faces, or thrown upon each 
other in their flight. The compartments of this 
fine work are decorated with a St. John and a St. 
Catharine. After examining some specimens of 
De Vos, De Quartemont, Pepyn, Van Baelen, and 
two old and curious paintings of an Ecce Homo, 
and a Mater Dolorosa, by an unknown artist, a St. 
Francis, by Murillo, &c, we came to the high altar 
of the choir, and the " Assumption of the Virgin," 
another of Rubens. In the act of ascending upon 
clouds, arrayed in light, her face appears radiant 
with the seraphic vision which opens before her ; 
attended by a host of angels, supporting her robe 



186 



OTHER SPECIMENS. 



and mantle, agitated by a gentle breeze ; others 
with palms in their hands, and two soaring to place 
a chaplet on her head. Below are seen the apostles, 
and three women round the deserted tomb placed in 
front of a sepulchre ; and the attitudes and expres- 
sion of the figures, the composition, and the entire 
grouping, attest this to be one of the best examples — 
an opinion in which all judges have agreed — of the 
peculiar style and character of this magnificent, 
but far from chaste and correct artist. It forms one 
of the few altar-pieces for which the space of six- 
teen days was devoted to its completion ; the sum 
awarded was 1600 florins, 140/., or 100 florins a day 
for a picture now estimated at between £5000 and 
£6000. An alto-relievo by Van Geel, a picture by 
Mathyssens, one by Van Bree, by Diepenbeck, 
Vander Linden, and Otto Venius, Rubens' master, 
did not long arrest our attention. One by Francken, 
however, — "The Doctors disputing in the Temple," 
giving the figures of Luther, Calvin, Erasmus, and 
other celebrated reformers, engaged us rather longer 
on account of its interesting portraits — painted in 
1587 — and the beautiful character of the heads, 
which were pronounced by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 
particularly the three men that are looking on one 
book, to be admirable characters, — the figures well 
drawn and well grouped, " though that of the 
Christ is but poor." 

"The elevation of the Cross" in the north transept, 
is another of Rubens' master pieces. It is a work 



OPINIONS OF SIR J. REYNOLDS. 187 



of vast labor and varied composition, the effect of 
which is not so much that which satisfies a critical 
judgment, as producing an impression of grandeur 
and magnificence. This painting is highly extolled 
by Sir Joshua Reynolds, who observes that the 
subject gave an admirable opportunity for displaying 
the artist's various abilities to his countrymen ; and 
that " it is certainly one of his best and most ani- 
mated compositions." The invention of throwing 
the cross obliquely, from one corner of the picture 
to the other, is finely conceived ; something in the 
manner of Tintoret ; it gives a new and uncommon 
air to his subject, and we may justly add, that it is 
uncommonly beautiful. The doors form a continu- 
ation ; the right has a group of women and chil- 
dren, on whose countenances terror is visibly im- 
pressed, presenting a fine contrast to the noble 
resignation beaming in those of the Virgin and of 
St. John, in the background ; the other represents 
officers on horseback, followed by the two thieves 
in the hands of the executioners, seen nailing them 
to the cross. 

" Rubens had the skill to adapt this subject in an 
eminent degree, to exhibit his grand art of com- 
position ; in his naked figures he had room for his 
knowledge of the anatomy of the human body ; 
there are women of different ages to produce variety 
of expression ; there are children and horsemen ; 
and to make the range of variety complete, he has 
introduced a dog, in an animated attitude, and 



188 ITALIAN AND FLEMISH ARTISTS. 

admirably well painted. The horses are perfect in 
their kind ; and this part of the work is by far. the 
best in regard to coloring ; the central picture, as 
well as that of the group of women, does not stand 
so high for color as every other excellence. I mean 
only to compare Rubens with himself : they might 
be thought excellent, even in this respect, were they 
the work of almost any other painter. The prin- 
cipal mass of light is on the Christ's body ; but in 
order to enlarge it, and improve its shape, a strong 
light comes on the shoulder of the figure, with a 
bald head ; the form of this shoulder is somewhat 
defective: it appears too round. Upon the whole, 
this picture must be considered as one of Rubens' 
principal works." * Among the accessory or aux- 
iliary paintings, a St. Eloy — a grand apostolical 
figure — adorns one of the covers. This fine pro- 
duction, for which the artist received 2,600 florins, 
(£334,) is said to have been his first work on his 
return from Italy ; but it bears intrinsic marks of 
having been the work of far maturer years. Its 
first exhibition at St. Walburge drew vast throngs, 
and elicited the most unbounded applause, similar 
to what took place at the exhibitions of Michael 
Angelo and Da Vinci, when they strove for pre- 
eminence before the people of Florence and of Italy. 
In the year 1627, Rubens retouched this favorite 
work, and always famous for his horses and dogs, 



* Sir J. Reynolds' Discourses, &c. 



POLICY OF NAPOLEON. 



189 



introduced a dog of the Newfoundland kind in the 
right hand corner. 

Napoleon, who was well aware of the grand 
prestige which attaches to magnificent collections of 
art, and how far it insensibly tends to strengthen a 
military government, drew spoils from every nation 
of the world ; and his agents added also the " De- 
scent of the Cross," to the dazzling treasures of the 
Louvre. It was restored with the peace in the 
year 1815. 

The church of St. James, which contains the 
earthly relics of the great painter and his sons, was 
commenced in the year 1404, and finished in 1502, 
conducted by a council of magistrates, at the head 
of whom was Balthazar Robiano, senator of Ant- 
werp. There is not much in its external appear- 
ance to impress the beholder ; it is the interior, 
which, as regards intellectual associations the most 
absorbing, connected with the only lasting glory — 
the triumphs of the enduring mind, and its con- 
structive principles as opposed to the devastating 
elements of tyranny and war, — gives rise to an in- 
definable feeling of awe and reverence for some- 
thing like the immortality of genius, as you cross 
the threshold of the noblest of Antwerp's religious 
reliques. Splendid mausoleums, pure rich-wrought 
marbles, bold sculptures, and brilliant paintings, 
interspersed through eighteen chapels, and twenty- 
two altars, — present one magnificent coup d'oeil, the 



190 



INTERIOR DECORATIONS. 



effect of which nothing can surpass. Even the 
choir, differing from other churches, is beautifully 
decorated with every attraction of art that can lend 
a charm to religious sanctity. The splendid con- 
fessionals which adorn the temple of Rubens ; the 
beauty of the statues and paintings on all sides ; 
the exquisite skill and beauty of the carvings ; the 
lofty, subdued, and mellow light thrown over the 
tomb of the Saviour from the majestic casements — 
gave it a hold on the imagination and the feelings, 
which we experienced in no other place. This 
was remarked also by my Belgian friend — I may 
truly add "my guide, philosopher, and friend," who 
led me to the points of view most favorable to see 
the master-pieces, — no trivial advantage, and which 
economises your time and thoughts,— and pointed out 
to me every object most deserving attention, including 
the exquisite workmanship of Verbruggen, the glory 
of Antwerp, who has given to it the effect produced 
by the chefs d'ceuvres of geniuses, by the singular 
skill and beauty of the carvings, which, like a vast 
frame, serve to give relief to the magic colors, and 
the enchanting forms of sculpture which surround 
them. For a great portion of its interior wealth and 
decorations, it is indebted to its miraculous good 
fortune, as it is regarded by pious catholics, in 
having escaped the ravages of war, and of fanatical 
violence ; and it will be found proportionably en- 
riched with contemporary works, and to contain 



THE MIDDLE AGES. 



191 



numerous beautiful marble statues, executed by 
great artists.* 

The west front of the Flemish churches is in gene- 
ral the principal one, in accordance with the rules laid 
down in the Gothic architecture of the middle ages. 
The porch is sustained by marble columns richly de- 
corated. This, as well as the fine carved and fretted 
work, was executed by Verbruggen, a man distin- 
guished above all of his profession for skill and ra- 
pidity in his performances. On entering the southern 
aisle we saw the portrait of a dignitary — Van Den 
Bossche, painted in 1657, by Gobau ; and opposite 
to it the epitaph of the painter Van Baelen, with a 
picture of the Resurrection of Christ. A portrait of 
the painter, and one of his wife, painted on marble 
by Vandyke, are placed over the monument, which 
bears the date of 1638. These are exceedingly in- 
teresting in every point of view, as well as some 
specimens by E. Quellyn, and some ancient pic- 
tures, said to be the productions of the great 
Memling, dated 1517, but the authority rests upon 
insufficient grounds. 

The altar-piece by F. Floris, the Raphael of the 
Flemish school, as he has injudiciously been termed, 
is not without merit ; but the martyrdom of two saints, 
upon the wall of the window, by Martin de Vos, is 
good. The paintings opposite represent the burgo- 
master Donckers, and his wife, both studied with 

* The great bell, alone 12,500 pounds in weight, was cast in the 
year 1828. 



192 SPLENDOR OF CHURCH DECORATIONS. 

the most exquisite degree of finish. They were 
painted by De Ryckere, in the manner of Holbein, 
in 1591. Here, too, we saw one of the frequent 
pulpits, so elaborately carved and ornamented, exe- 
cuted by Willemsens, and the great admiration of 
pious Catholics, who consider its preservation from 
the violence of Spaniards and Iconoclasts as altoge- 
ther miraculous. The productions of Martin de 
Vos, some of them admirably executed, abound in 
this church ; the " Woman taken in Adultery," is 
by the master of Rubens, and the statue of a saint 
by Van Hool, is well deserving notice. There is 
an alto-relievo,— the Erection of the Cross in a single 
stone, an elaborate piece, in which the figures are 
sculptured with great spirit ; correct in design and 
daring in execution. It is by Vervoort, 1719. 
Scarcely inferior are the marble statues of St. John 
the Evangelist, and St. John the Baptist, by Mai- 
herbe. Everything here indeed exhibits the per- 
fect state of the church decorations in those times ; 
the communion table of white marble, after designs 
by A. Quellyn, who produced the figures of the 
children who support it, is admirably and skilfully 
constructed. Some painted glass by Vander Vecken, 
representing the history of Rodolph, from Augs- 
burgh, is very fine. But we now approached the 
tomb of Rubens, a chapel behind the choir, wholly 
dedicated to the memory of this celebrated artist 
and his family. The altar appears surmounted 
with a white marble statue of the Virgin, by Ques- 



TOMB OF RUBENS. 



193 



noy, which was brought from Rome by Rubens 
himself. But these are lost in the interest excited 
by the grand historical painting, in which a like- 
ness of the painter appears in the character of St. 
George ; his father in that of St. Jerome ; his first 
wife in that of Magdalen ; and his second under 
that of Martha. His grandfather under the em- 
blematical figure of time, is also introduced ; and 
his son as an angel. The whole composition shows 
the great skill of the artist, and the care and study 
which he bestowed upon it. Of its splendid 
coloring, it is observed by Sir J. Reynolds, that 
" it is clear and bright as if the sun shone on it." 
And he pointedly adds, " that to a painter who 
wishes to become a colorist, or learn the art of pro- 
ducing a brilliant effect, this picture is as well 
worth studying as any in Antwerp." 

The tomb is covered with a large marble slab, 
bearing Rubens' coat of arms, and a latin inscrip- 
tion, stating the great qualities of the artist, and 
the high honors to which he attained. We prefer, 
however, to give some passages from a critique by 
the learned Levesque, which admirably display the 
peculiar qualities and characteristics of this great 
man as a painter : " He painted history, portraits, 
landscapes, fruits, flowers, and animals, and ex- 
celled in every style : he likewise invented and 
executed with equal facility; he has been often seen 
making several sketches on the same subject, and 
different from each other ; — he preferred the great 

o 



194 



CHARACTERISTICS. 



compositions, in which he succeeded admirably ; he 
possessed not, it is true, like Raphael, that mild in- 
spiration, which manifests itself by gracious and soft 
effects ; but he was endowed with that internal fire 
which cannot be suppressed, and displays itself on 
every occasion by wonderful execution. It seemed that 
all his figures, all his groups, crowded, as it were, 
in order to exhibit themselves on the canvas ; and 
that to invent he had only to use his own resources. 
His talents in drawing have been unjustly disputed; 
his designs were grand and easy ; he possessed a 
profound knowledge of anatomy ; but this science 
yielded to his impetuosity of conception, and his 
vivacity of execution ; — in a word, the power of his 
art rises often to enchantment." 

We proceed to notice only the chefs d'ceuvres of 
the great artists, among which, " Christ expiring 
on the Cross," by Vandyke, is one of the best spe- 
cimens of that master. # It was said to have been 
originally painted in compliment to the order of 
Dominicans. The artist has introduced their foun- 
der standing on the left, his arms extended, and 
his eyes raised towards the dying Saviour ; while 
St. Rosalie, habited in the order of a Beguine nun, 
and wearing a crown of thorns on her head, is seen 
embracing the foot of the cross. Two angels 
appear above, beholding with wonder the mysterious 

* Born at Antwerp in 1599 ; died in London in the year 1641. As 
the pupil of Rubens, and painter to Charles I. of England, he chalked 
out a new career, without coming into competition with his celebrated 
master. 



NUMEROUS INSTITUTIONS. 



195 



event ; and a third angel is seated at the foot of the 
cross, pointing with one hand to the Saviour. Sir 
Joshua Reynolds, and other judges, give to the 
whole composition the highest praise ; it has been 
estimated at the value of 1,000 guineas. "The 
conduct of the light and shadow of this picture, is 
likewise worth the attention of a painter. To pre- 
serve the principal mass of light which is made by 
the body of Christ, of a beautiful shape, the head is 
kept in half shadow. The under garment of 
St. Dominick and the angel make the second mass ; 
and the St. Catherine, head, handkerchief, and arm, 
the third." * 

After having visited some private collections, 
and a number of public institutions, all on a splen- 
did scale of art, though fallen from their original 
influence and utility ; we returned to view the 
lofty and splendid tower of the cathedral, one of 
the finest Gothic monuments in the world. Of 
pyramidical form, the elegance, delicacy, and high 
finish of its workmanship, are truly admirable. 
Yet it is immensely strong ; in all parts bound 
together by iron clamps ; and is considered by the 
best judges a master-piece of skill, never yet sur- 
passed. From its summit we enjoyed a magnificent 
view, both over the city and into the far distance, 
for which the peculiarly level character of the coun- 
try, is in Belgium extremely favorable. 

* Sir J. Reynolds. 

o 2 



CHAPTER XI. 



Route from Antwerp to Brussels — Associations of a Road — Interesting 
Reminiscences — Adventures of a Painter Lover — Precautions of his 
Master — New Character of the Scenery — Phenomena of a Splendid 
Sunset — Situation and Advantages of Brussels — Use of a Friend at 
Court — The Park and the Boulevards — Memorials of Battle — A 
Circuit View of the City — Interior — Place dAnvers — Portes de 
Namur and de Halle — Hotel de Ville — Palace of Justice. 

The canal from Antwerp to Malines, and the old 
diligences that used to occupy four hours in reaching 
Brussels, are no longer under requisition. For 
three francs and a half, the traveller now performs 
the distance, upwards of thirty miles, in less than 
an hour and a half by steam, and may repeat it 
three or four times a day, should he feel so inclined. 
The Porte de Malines, by which the road leaves 
Antwerp, traverses the village of Berchem, not long 
since the head quarters of the French general, 
Marshal Gerard, during the famous siege. We 
could still see, in the orchards and gardens, traces 
where the French first took up their ground, and 
opened the trenches by which they gradually 



TOWN AND COUNTRY. 



197 



effected their approach to the citadel. In the im- 
mediate neighbourhood, we observed a number of 
pleasantly situated mansions, belonging to lords of 
the soil or wealthy merchants — the class from which 
the halls of representatives are chiefly supplied, — 
surrounded by neat but not spacious grounds ; in 
which latter case they are generally dignified by 
the name of chateaux. As you proceed farther 
along the line, the Rus in Urbe begins to disappear, 
and substantial farms and red tiled cottages, with 
little gardens, neat and trimly dressed, and teeming 
with high culture, betray the secret of Belgium's 
agricultural fame, of her comparative plenty, her 
self-dependence and respect. Her prosperity is 
based — as a country's real prosperity ought to be — 
upon the land — the broad foundation of manufac- 
tures and commerce itself, without which national 
industry and ingenuity must be employed in vain. 
With a high state of cultivation and rich produc- 
tive harvests, the impetus given to trade and com- 
merce in all other branches, will be sure to follow ; 
and the sole difficulty that remains, is to find, as in 
the case of Belgium, a fair and sufficient market to 
take off the products of its industry. 

We passed Contich, a small place, having about 
four thousand inhabitants, whose chief employment 
is that of hat-making, and at the distance of two 
miles from Malines, is still observable the remains of 
a small rampart or fortification, which extends to 
both sides of the road. It is the scene of the last 



198 



ROAD ASSOCIATIONS. 



struggle between the Belgians and the Dutch in 
1831; in their contest for the possession of. the 
narrow wooden bridge ; when the former succeeded 
in driving the enemy from their position, and 
obliged them to retreat under the walls of Antwerp. 
But there are other associations yet more honorable 
and far more pleasant, connected with the road 
from the " city of great painters " to the capital of 
Belgium. There is scarcely a village or little 
hamlet by which you pass, that has not been the 
subject of some great artist's pencil, or received the 
name of a street or house from his residence ; and 
the specimens of Teniers selected from the pictur- 
esque objects along this route, would almost form 
a collection, and are among the most pleasing and 
graphic, which his brilliant but faithful pencil pro- 
duced. We are reminded also of the great pupil 
of Rubens, when for the last time he left his 
master's house or rather palace, where he held his 
school — a school of manners and fashion, as well as 
of art — where, distinguished above all by his man- 
liness and wit, he received the princely visitors, 
displayed the treasures of his studio, conversed with 
lords and potentates, and was treated by the grand- 
minded Rubens less as a pupil than as a friend. It 
is evident from the portraits drawn of himself, that 
Vandyke was a very handsome man, and as he 
appears on horseback at the age of twenty-one, in 
the character of the saint militant, — a painting 
almost a o red by his fellow-citizens — he has the 



EPISODE IN A ROMANCE. 



199 



genuine air of a high-born and true cavalier. It was 
long the boasted treasure of the church of St. 
Martin, whose patron saint it represented, in the 
village of Salthem, near Brussels ; and the regular 
and handsome features it displayed, are the same 
that belonged to Vandyke's mother, distinguished 
for her comeliness and noble looks. Rubens, 
though aware of his exalted genius, showed none 
of the petty jealousy displayed by the Italian mas- 
ters. He engaged his admirable pupil to fill up 
many of his own designs, and more than one paint- 
ing by the hand of the scholar, is supposed to 
have passed for, and still to maintain, the reputation 
of his master. To the surprise of every one there, 
that master, while he found so powerful a coadjutor 
and a friend, in the noble Vandyke, suddenly re- 
solved upon his making the picturesque tour of 
Italy ; and it was whispered there were other mo- 
tives than those connected with art to wish his 
handsome scholar, however useful to his interests, 
at a greater distance. There seems little doubt that 
he did not behold the style of beauty peculiar to 
the second wife of Rubens, Helen Fourman, with 
indifference, and one of the most charming portraits 
he ever painted, or that was perhaps ever painted, 
of woman, was that of the young wife of his master. 
This he is known to have presented to Rubens, who, 
for whatever reason, soon afterwards offered to 
confer upon him the hand of his own daughter. 
What was his surprise, not unmingled probably with 



200 



A FALSE POSITION. 



a feeling of jealousy, worse than a professional kind, 
and marked disappointment, to find the alliance with 
a young heiress courteously declined ; though, to 
judge by the likeness of her in the Schamp Gal- 
lery, she possessed other charms than those wealth 
could boast of. # 

It might have been to obviate the world's sur- 
mises, and the disagreeable position in which they 
found themselves placed, that the visit to Italy was 
suggested ; for the last as he was to become aware of 
it — as almost invariably is the case — Rubens saw it 
was the mother-in-law, not the daughter, who occu- 
pied the first place in the painter's affections. Venice 
was the place recommended by the master, who 
urged his immediate departure, while the other 
still lingered as if wholly absorbed in the comple- 
tion of his Christ in the olive-garden. This also is 
the finest head of a man, for it is that of Vandyke 
himself, to which he ever put his hand ; he be- 
stowed upon it the greatest care, for it was intended 
as a companion to the beautiful Helen Fourman, 
which Rubens hung over the chimney-piece in his 
atelier, — and this, too, he presented to his master. 
There was no longer an excuse, — the time for 
Vandyke's departure was come, — and Rubens, who, 

* There are few representatives of the family of Vandyke— and 
those on the female side — that now survive ; one in the person of Ma- 
dame Puque\ the wife of a young portrait painter, descended from Van- 
dyke's daughter, who became allied to one of his most able and amia- 
ble pupils — the well-known Janssens. 



A PARTING SCENE. 



201 



in matters of liberal feeling, deserved to be called 
the Magnificent, selected from his stud a splendid 
Arab, sent to him by the king of Spain, richly 
caparisoned ; and, mounted on this fine steed, the 
love-student took his departure, as he is represented 
in the sketch — the hand of Rubens resting on the 
neck of the horse, and the head of Vandyke bent 
down as if to catch his master's words, while his 
last looks are directed to a window, where you ob- 
serve the half-concealed form of the charming 
Helen. 

It was through the same gate, the Porte de Ma- 
lines, and along the same route we traversed that the 
future great Vandyke then rode, till he reached the 
pretty village of Salthem, its Gothic church, and 
handsome peasant^. Even at that early time his 
fame had gone before him ; the inhabitants came 
forth to meet him, and solicit the grand boon of a 
picture for the altar of their church. The young 
women and children appeared with chaplets of 
flowers ; flowers were strewn in his path ; and a 
chaplet of immortelles, in the words of his fair 
eulogist, was presented to him by the fairest of all 
— the miller's daughter. Vandyke was delighted 
at this simple testimony to his merits ; he replaced 
the tribute on the fair brow of her who gave it ; 
he gazed on it intently, for it was that which sup- 
plied him with the fine head and countenance of his 
Madonna. He had already a subject, — he complied 
with the entreaties of the villagers, — and produced 



202 



A SKILFUL MASTER. 



that exquisite painting of the miller's daughter— 
the Fornarina of the Flemish Raphael. 

When tidings came to Rubens that his too-loving 
pupil, whom he had already believed on his way to 
Italy, was still dallying over another picture, he 
looked more and more serious, and began it is said 
to tremble for his honor, if not for the honor of his 
school. It is certain he lost no time in quietly 
commissioning an Italian friend, who was preparing 
to return to his own country, to persuade the dal- 
lying genius to accompany him, at least as far as 
Venice. The new picture was soon dispatched, and 
the gentleman succeeded perfectly in fulfilling 
Rubens' wishes. 

In the school of splendid colors, with the models 
of Titian before him, the great Fleming in many 
respects surpassed the best of his predecessors, and 
made them subsidiary, as it were, to the completion 
of his full and masterly displays of art. From that 
period fortune and immortality seemed to vie with 
each other in weaving him garlands, like the maids 
of Salthem ; his reception in Italy ; at the court of 
Charles I. in England, and his alliance with a lady 
of noble blood, * with the honors conferred upon 
him, — for he was created a Knight of the Bath, — 
have the air of a romance, and show that he well 



* Vandyke married lady Mary, the daughter of lord Ruthven ; 
made England his adopted country, and a monument was raised 
over his remains, in our cathedral of St. Paul's. 



ROAD FROM MALINES. 



203 



knew how to tread in the footsteps of his accom- 
plished master. 

Upon leaving Malines to the left, the railroad 
crosses the canal leading to Lou vain, and between 
Malines and Vilvorde, near the village of Elewyt, 
is still seen the old chateau of Rubens, at Steen, of 
which he was seigneur, or lord of the manor. It 
is an ancient structure, surrounded by a moat, and 
now fast falling to decay. By going a little farther 
from the usual route, about two miles from Steen, 
we came to Teniers' house at Perck, called the Drey 
Toren, though only one of the towers now remains. 
We observed upon the folding doors a spread eagle, 
which tradition boldly ascribes to the artist's own 
design. In the adjacent church is also one of his 
paintings, and the tomb of his wife. Upon resuming 
our route, we next came to Vilvorde, a small place 
with 3000 inhabitants, but which has a noble 
church, that contains some very curiously wrought 
carvings in wood. It was at this place that Tindal, 
the first English translator of the scriptures, was 
burnt as a heretic in 1536. After quitting this 
place, the road continues in a parallel line along 
the grand canal to Brussels ; the scenery becomes 
more wooded and varied, and is interspersed with a 
number of agreeable country seats, offering a strange 
contrast to the huge, sombre penitentiary which we 
had just left behind us on the opposite bank near 
Vilvorde. The view, on a nearer approach to 
Brussels, was of a different character to any we had 



204 



COUNTRY RESIDENCES. 



before seen ; the monotonous level is relieved by 
gentle eminences and undulations of the ground , in 
the distance — the noble city appears pleasantly 
situated on a gentle hill, and valley below, in the 
form of an amphitheatre, not strongly marked, but 
sufficiently so to produce a degree of variety. 
Soon, the palace of Laeken, the country residence 
of the king, attracts your attention on the right. 
In its external appearance it boasts nothing extra- 
ordinary, at least for a royal residence, having been 
built rather for security than for pleasure ; — the 
stronghold of an Austrian governor of the Nether- 
lands. It had a rapid succession of masters ; and 
Napoleon figured among them, having resided here 
on his arrival in the country, and first planned, it 
is asserted, his grand and disastrous Russian cam- 
paign. The park, the flower gardens, and the 
entire grounds, are beautifully laid out, and disposed 
according to the best English rules of taste. The 
allee verte is exceeded by nothing of the kind we 
saw, till we reached the forest of Ardennes, and 
traversed the magnificent avenues of" old hereditary 
trees," in the vicinity of Verviers and Spa. The 
Porte Guillaume, now changed into Porte de 
Laeken, opens upon the avenue, which extends the 
entire way to Brussels ; but it is humiliating to 
think that national enmity should have led to the 
destruction of the bas-relief which ornamented the 
gate, because it bore some allusion to the former 
king. 



EFFECTS OF A SUNSET. 



205 



The evening we entered Brussels was beautiful 
and even magnificent, for it was a splendid sunset, 
and the entire city, and all surrounding objects? 
appeared bathed in a sea of purple light, seldom 
seen except in the south. It was this which gave 
us the impression that we had suddenly burst upon 
new scenery, together with the singular optical 
illusions, witnessed so frequently under the same 
circumstances, near Brussels, and producing so 
great a variety of novel and beautiful phenomena 
by the refraction of the sun's rays, and the play of 
light through the openings of the trees. It ap- 
peared, in fact, as if the entire woods were in one 
vast effulgence, and, by the rapid transit of the 
road, were thrown into a series of moving masses, 
emitting balls of fire, pouring down from the 
heights in endless succession, an effect which excited 
the curiosity and admiration of every passenger, 
even of those who had already beheld the singular 
spectacle, though not in the same vivid colors. To 
those only who have witnessed the splendors of a 
Neapolitan sunset resting on the city, and its fire 
illumined bay, could we hope to convey an adequate 
idea of the singular effects that can be thus naturally 
produced, and must defy the skill even of a Turner 
to seize and to depict. There was in this sunset a 
deeper radiance of the clear blue and crimson, with 
those green tints which purple sea and land, as they 
are seen in more southern skies, but seldom wit- 
nessed with extreme vividness in a more northern 



206 



BRUSSELS. 



latitude. As my Belgian companion briefly ex- 
pressed it, and lie was applauded by every one to 
the echo— "the phenomenon was unique and superb." 
It was such as the oldest passengers had not wit- 
nessed before. 

We were now at Brussels ; — so often seen and 
described, yet always new and agreeable both to the 
eye and the mind. We took a voiture in the lower 
town, and proceediDg to the Place Royale, made it 
our first object to secure good apartments in the 
Hotel de l'Europe, as high ground as we could find, 
and the most pleasant from which to take a com- 
manding view of this truly lordly, yet sufficiently 
democratic city, presenting a variety that must 
always be not a little exciting to the most fastidious 
palate. 

The seat of government, and of the chambers, 
situated on the little river Senne, with a population 
of nearly 120,000, Brussels comprehends the upper 
and lower towns, the former on a gentle declivity, 
the most fashionable and salubrious ; the latter in 
the low land, the most busy and industrious. The 
King's palace, the Halls of Representatives, the 
park, and the chief hotels, are all in the High town 
on the Place Royale ; but for those who delight in 
the antique and picturesque, let them by all means 
stay where the railroad first deposits them, at least 
for a few weeks, and they will then, too, enjoy with 
double zest, the novelty and the variety of every 
kind to be met with in the New, — and its many 



INSTITUTIONS, ETC. 



207 



delightful environs. I was reminded by my friend, 
that the old town was once the court of the Brabant 
nobles : with its Grande Place, its Hotel de Ville, 
its palace of Charles V., and its fine old Gothic 
edifices. In some of these, as well as in its institu- 
tions and manners, Brussels may bear, on a small 
scale, some comparison with Paris. The opera— to 
say the least — is common to both ; its cafes are 
conducted on a similar plan to those of the Palais 
Royal ; there is a palace garden to vie in miniature 
with the Tuilleries ; and Boulevards on Boulevards, 
are still fast spreading, like our own west end, to 
an indefinite point. 

Brussels is not now so generally the resort of the 
English as before the late revolution. The immense 
colony of fashionable or economic settlers who then 
fled, seems never to have recovered the panic ; and 
perhaps they weighed the comparative dulness to 
mere economists or frugal dwellers, against the 
cheapness of living ; for, as a capital, it boasts few 
court -like attractions, general visitings, or common 
place amusements. With men of business, pro- 
fessional men, artists, and travellers, in pursuit of 
its real wealth and possessions, it is different ; they 
will find ample matter to occupy their time agree- 
ably ; and they will find the English language so 
generally spoken, as to occasion no inconvenience 
from a want of the Flemish dialect, or genuine 
Paris French. 

On our arrival in Brussels, our young Belgian 



208 BELGIAN KINDNESS AND HOSPITALITY. 



friend, whose society was half the pleasure of my 
excursion, pointed out to me everything worthy of 
observation ; his name was the "open, Sesame," that 
gave admission to the most exclusive circles, where 
his mind and genius seemed to act like a spell upon 
the manners and characters of those around him. 
He introduced me to a number of friends in the 
Boulevards, in the two halls of representatives, and 
gave me a free passport at any hours to the various 
public institutions, from the museum to the French 
opera, and I had but 

" To listen to the voice that calls, 
To plays, to concerts, and to balls," 

had my taste, or principal objects of pursuit lain at 
all in that direction. What was more, he pointed 
my attention to some curious works connected with 
the early historical and traditionary records of 
Brussels, of the singular events which had signalized 
almost every street, and given a name to many, and 
to the edifices near them. This of itself afforded 
an infinite scope of novelty and variety to our in- 
quiries, and I fortunately possessed the same happy 
resources, which give tenfold interest to every spot, 
with regard to Namur, Liege, and the pleasant 
romantic banks of the Meuse. With the same 
generous and unwearied kindness he proceeded to 
obtain letters for me from the Prussian embassy, in 
the view o fmy proceeding through Germany, and 
from some of his friends, introductions in France 



THE HIGH TOWER, PARK, ETC. 209 

and Italy. We then took a stroll through the park, 
with the intention of calling on Dr. L., an able and 
successful physician, and not less popular and dis- 
tinguished a writer ; and on his friend Mr. M., in 
the Boulevards, the latter of whom had in his 
possession a beautiful specimen of Andrea Del 
Sarto, a Madonna and child, presented to that 
gentleman many years ago by the writer's father. 
It was now only the second time that I had been in 
Brussels, and the effect of revolutionary change was 
visible in the appearance of the park, as well as in 
many other public places, and institutions which 
had lost much of their exclusiveness. All public 
evidences, and vestiges of the former dynasty had 
been carefully erased — even names and allegorical re- 
presentations were removed, and others, emblematic 
of national independence, studiously substituted. 
Sometimes this was carried to an amusing, if not 
a ludicrous excess, as at Paris, in similar circum- 
stances, and occasioned a confusion of names rather 
puzzling to the great body of the people, and not 
very dissimilar to the predicament of the boy who 
went to inquire for " Die Game Cottage," when he 
was sent to the residence of " a learned Theban," 
who had dignified it with the name of the Greek 
digamma. 

The park, within the precincts of the Haute Ville, 
and embracing the interior of a vast square, is laid 
out in a tasteful style, formed upon the old English 
manner of laying out public parks and pleasure 

p 



210 revolution; a second Waterloo, etc. 

grounds ; namely, in long avenues of trees, shady 
walks, and green spreading sward, profusely inter- 
spersed and enlivened by classical or allegorical 
statues — now too rarely seen in England. It 
serves as a general promenade, and a pleasant 
evening resort for the inhabitants, especially when 
exhilarated by the music of the royal band. It is 
then the more fashionable, as well as the youthful 
citizens of young Belgium belonging to the higher 
town may be seen adorning the left of the entrance 
from the Place Royale. Here, too, was the scene 
of some of the fiercest conflicts during the three 
days, and especially in the attack of Prince Frede- 
rick, part of whose troops forced the Belgian 
position, and played sad havoc with the trees and 
statues, by dint of round and grape ; so that the 
Hotel de Bellevue, on which the insurgents retreated, 
was completely riddled with shot. As if it had 
been a second Waterloo, the good host made a 
point of collecting bullets and balls for the brief 
period the grand revolution should continue a nine 
days' wonder, and a Parisian subject of curiosity. 

The environs and sides of this spacious and finely 
wooded enclosure, are chiefly formed of handsome 
edifices, continued on one side in a series of Boule- 
vards ; on the others are seen the royal palace, the 
palace of the Prince of Orange ; the chambers, or 
hall of congress, including that of the senate. 
From the church of St. James, the rue Montagne 
de la Cour, and in particular from the Hotel de 



SUCCESSION AND VARIETY. 211 

Belle vue, the grand entrance to the park is seen to 
peculiar advantage, with the square, and the long 
terraced street, called the Royale, bounding its 
southern side. These, indeed, with all the sur- 
rounding edifices, comprehending a portion of the 
Haute Ville, are on a scale of princely magnificence, 
scarcely inferior to Paris itself; nor are the ob- 
jects of curiosity in the park less calculated to 
promote the mSnus plaisirs of the citizen of Brus- 
sels, than the former to gratify his taste and pride. 
There is a pleasing succession of variety in the 
distribution of the scenery, the objects, and the 
points of view, in the opening of glade, acclivity, 
or dell, and the disposition of statues, busts, and 
vases, at the spots best adapted to strike the eye. 
Numerous rows of trees are brought to terminate in 
a finely embowered centre, where, to give fresh 
illusion of forest beauty, you see no close to the 
surrounding vistas, and you may fancy yourself 
standing on the brink of an enchanted pool, as 
described by some German novelist ; for here the 
young people can amuse themselves with watching 
the gold fishes playing in the clear waters. On the 
Sabbath, the chief day of recreation, it seems to 
swarm with the young and old of every rank, who 
enjoy the music of a fine military band, al fresco, 
walking in groups, or reposing on the numerous 
seats near the central clump whence the notes issue, 
the performers being themselves invisible, which 
gives a kind of illusion to the scene. 

p 2 



212 



THE BOULEVARDS. 



But it is the " Promenade du Boulevard," which 
is pronounced par excellence, the Hyde Park, of 
Brussels ; though in point of brilliancy of equipages, 
and of reunions, it is like the park, no longer what 
it once was. On a fine summer's evening, it pre- 
sents an elegant and richly animated scene. The 
new boulevards also, extending from La Porte 
du Rivage to that of Halle, form a beautiful, or 
rather magnificent, walk of more than four miles, 
delightfully shaded by elm and linden trees, offering 
one continued variety to the admirer of rural and 
picturesque scenery. Leaving the new gate, we 
came to the fine public garden called " le chene 
vert," through an avenue of handsome aristocratic 
trees, where the old cross-bow men were of old 
accustomed to try their skill ; and in a spacious 
embowered alley to the right, lay the grand 
bason of Charleroi. Opposite the boulevards, 
on the other side, we suddenly caught a glimpse 
of the little rural palace called le Point-de-vue, 
from which commences the noble avenue which 
conducted us to the bridge of Lacken. It was 
for the preservation of this delicious walk, that the 
ladies of Brussels so urgently petitioned Marshal 
Saxe, when, in 1746, he opened his fire against the 
gate of Schaerbeck, and the courteous commander 
was sufficiently gallant to turn a favorable ear to 
the round robin presented by so fair a deputation. 
From all that can now be seen, it was well deserving 
all their efforts to save the chief grace and glory of 



ROYAL EXCURSIONS ; CHAMP DASILE, ETC. 213 

their holidays ; and the thousand pretty excursions 
with their families, to enjoy the sweet cool air, and 
numberless pleasant spots associated with early 
pleasures, which give so great a zest to little expe- 
ditions — such as the environs of Brussels affords. 
It is in these cool and delightful retreats also, that 
the royal Leopold and his consort take their pleasant 
little drives, laying aside every semblance of state, 
either by themselves, or accompanied only by a 
few select friends — a simplicity of taste and feeling, 
which, together with their unaffected manners, and 
their respect for the national institutions, tends to 
conciliate the good will and the confidence of th.^ 
people. The " Champ d'Asile," a rural little para 
dise, embowered in flowers, in which the queen 
takes much delight, its choice and tasteful decora 
tions, and its picturesque views, offer a double 
zest to these excursions, and render Brussels any 
thing but a dull residence to the artist and the 
amateur. 

Re-entering the city, still in the direction of the 
boulevards, we come to the " Porte d'Anvers a 
portico, with its triumphal arch and three entrances 
The centre one is adorned with two Corinthian 
columns, supporting an elegant frame-work, on 
which was represented, in bas-relief, the chief ma- 
gistrate of the city, offering the keys of the town 
to William I.; but this, too, shared the fate of all 
other public memorials of the past reign. The 
place d'Anvers, the porte de Schaerbeck, from which 



214 PLACE des barricades; louvain, etc. 

the eye stretches over a picturesque valley, and the 
high roads leading to Ninove, Ghent, and Jette? 
and the hospice called Pacheco, for support of the 
wives and daughters of deceased officers who fell 
in the revolution, and the new hospital, brought us 
towards the gate of Louvain, along a continuation 
of the boulevard, lined with magnificent edifices, 
till we reached the new observatory. This is an 
interesting building, of which the principal facade 
is very pleasing and admirably placed, with a 
southern aspect. Near here we passed the Place 
des Barricades, erected from designs by Roget, and 
which opens upon four noble streets. At one of 
the angles of the boulevards is the market for the 
sale of horses, held twice in the year ; and here 
again we obtained a prospect of the surrounding 
country, even more extensive than from the porte 
de Schaerbeck. We found that of Louvain more 
striking than any we had yet passed ; it consists 
of two octagonal pavilions, with arches united by 
an iron frame- work. From this place to the porte 
de Namur, the boulevard is extremely beautiful, 
and on the side of the town commands a fine 
prospect over gardens and grounds richly cultivated ; 
on that of the country the prospect extends as far 
as the ponds of Josset en Noode, and the cham- 
paign tract beyond the cemetery of St. Gudule, and 
the Linden-Borch. Pursuing our external view, we 
passed by the pretty little palace of the Prince of 
Orange, and by the porte de Namur, till we reached 



PORTE DE HALLE ; d'aNDERLECHT. 215 

le boulevart de Waterloo, which extends in a direct 
line till we reach the porte de Halle, along another 
range of new and beautiful edifices, where a fresh 
prospect opens over the faubourgs de St. Gilles, to 
the commencement of the bois de Foret. This is 
the spot to behold a fine sunset, commanding as it 
does the whole horizon, often lit up with a splendor 
which diffuses itself far over town and tower, and 
painting with richer hues the fertile plains of Bra- 
bant and Flanders. 

The Porte de Halle was constructed in 1381 ; but 
some centuries afterwards it was transferred with 
the surrounding buildings to the purposes of a 
dungeon, by the execrable Alba, who selected for 
its occupation the most illustrious victims. In 
modern days it has been appropriated as a depository 
for the general archives of the city. Proceeding 
farther, we soon found ourselves upon the ancient 
ramparts of Brussels — a site not so often visited — 
and whence other prospects disclose themselves over 
these varied and delightful environs. Next from 
the porte d'Anderlecht, the city itself, as on a map, 
lay stretched below us in one vast and splendid 
amphitheatre, half encircling lofty towers, churches, 
and palaces, streets, parks, and gardens, forming a 
magnificent and varied foreground to the still more 
enchanting distance. Fine champaign and wooded 
views, Soignies, and green vistas of the "allee 
verte," presented under different points at every 
step, as novel and picturesque a coup d'ceil as the 



216 BRUSSELS, AND BANKS OF THE MEUSE. 

heart of a Flemish painter could desire, or his eye 
feast upon. If we except, indeed, the banks of the 
Meuse, there is no scenery in Belgium comparable 
to part of the environs round the capital, so far, at 
least, as regards variety, and striking or pretty 
effects. We could not help picturing to ourselves, 
what was the aspect of the same scenes in the thir- 
teenth and fourteenth centuries, when the neigh- 
bouring forest overshadowed the very walls ; when 
woods, like the Ardennes, stretched their dark lines 
over the southern districts ; and religious festivals, 
the gay tournament, ordeals of battle, and knightly 
pilgrimages to the Holy Land ; the wild hunting, 
or the romantic love scene, were meditated or com- 
memorated within their lofty precincts ; when the 
lordly castle, or secluded monastery, rose over each 
pleasant site, and usurped the fair and far domain ; 
v both the glory and the beauty of the land. 

We had completed our circuit of the " portes de 
ville," and the " boulevards," so as to view the city 
and its environs from every commanding point; 
and we now bent our steps into the interior along 
the old " Rampart des moines," and its famous 
monastery by the church of St. Gery, to the Grande 
Place, when we came to the Town Hall, one of the 
most spacious and magnificent edifices in Brussels. 
It is also surrounded by several antique-looking 
buildings, which display their Spanish character 
and origin. The exterior aspect of the Hotel de 
Ville is striking and imposing ; it presents a fine 



SOIGNIES AND WATERLOO. 



217 



example of the Gothic Lombard style of architec- 
ture, and of the splendid municipal palaces which 
distinguished Belgium during the middle ages. 
The majestic tower in the same style, with open 
Gothic work to the summit, was completed in 1 44 1 , 
by the celebrated Van Ruysbroeck, though it has 
since been frequently repaired. In point of strength 
and lightness, as well as elegance, it is not surpassed 
by anything of the kind ; it is 364 feet in height, 
and supports a colossal statue of the patron saint, 
which serves as a weathercock. It has been observed 
that this fine tower is not placed in the centre of 
the edifice, and that the artist destroyed himself on 
detecting this fault ; an absurd story ; for there is 
every reason to conclude that originally it was only 
half its present length, that the tower stood at one 
end, and that the addition made, projecting into the 
adjacent street, produced this apparent irregularity* 
The view from the summit extends over Soignies, 
as far as Waterloo ; the colossal lion on the mound 
is distinctly visible. The interior court is adorned 
with fountains flowing from white marble figures of 
sea deities resting on their urns ; and the great 
Gothic hall brings to mind the exploits of Charles 
V., who there abdicated state power in favor of his 
son Philip II. There is an antique sombre air, 
which, with the deserted state of the other apart- 
ments, decorated with faded tapestry, and the 
ghostly-looking portraits of the dukes of Burgundy, 
kings of Spain, and Austrian dames and princes, 



218 



PALACE OF JUSTICE. 



serve to exemplify the wretched vanity of human 
power and wealth, except so far as they are directed 
to the support of justice, truth, and virtue. The 
ground floor is occupied by civic officers. On the 
right, after entering the great archway, is the police 
office ; in the market place in front, the counts Eg- 
mont and de Horne were beheaded ; they spent the 
preceding night in the old house opposite, the 
Maison du Roi, and ancient Hotel de Ville. It was 
restored by the Infanta Isabella, in 1625, out of 
compliment to Notre Dame de la Paix, for having 
kindly delivered Brussels from the plague, war, and 
famine ; and there is a half effaced inscription to 
this effect ; she had done better, perhaps, to have 
delivered them from the scourge of the Spanish 
despot, and his myrmidons. 

The Palace of Justice, formerly the convent of the 
Jesuits, which was suppressed by Maria Teresa in 
1773, and their church as recently as 1812, received 
its present form in 1823, as would appear from 
an inscription lately effaced, and which bore the 
name of the king of the Netherlands William I. 
It is remarkable as an imitation of the church of 
Ste. Marie-la-Rotonde, at Rome, the ancient tem- 
ple of Agrippina. The interior was badly laid 
out ; inconvenient, and in a neglected state ; but it 
has more recently been considerably restored and 
improved. 

The Hotel de la Monnaie, on the place of that 
name, opposite the Theatre Royal, was founded as 



FIRST GOLD COINAGE. 



219 



early as 1291. John L, duke of Brabant, was the so- 
vereign who here first struck golden coins, which he 
called his Lions d'or, no inappropriate name to sig- 
nify their power, and their claws may aptly enough 
be termed the sinews of war, and not only of war. 
The French government interrupted the labors of 
the mint, and turned the hotel into a Bourse, which 
has been subsequently, however, held in the vestibule 
of a building belonging to it. 

The Theatre Royal in the same " Place," is an 
enormous and heavy-looking edifice constructed 
about twenty years ago ; it opened with an opera 
of Gretry, la Carcwane, to an overwhelming house. 
The fagade is formed of eight Ionic columns ; and 
it has a magnificent gallery of arcades, which ex- 
tends entirely round it. The gas lights are quite 
insufficient to illumine the vast space ; and it is 
only when glowing with splendid lustres of wax 
tapers over the front boxes, where the fashionable 
dress of Brussels displays itself, that it loses the 
sombre impression w T hich its heavy proportions and 
massiveness inspire. The corps des artistes, and 
du Ballet, is very considerable, and tolerably sup- 
ported ; and those of the grand and of the comic 
opera we considered far superior to the others, 
especially in the performances of the Belgian and 
the German master pieces, the compositions of 
which are superb. There is another " troupe de 
Vaudeville but the support received from the 
public is not such as to sustain its character without 



220 SECRET OF THEATRICAL PROSPERITY. 

a vote from the civil list. Its management is now 
in the hands of a company whose funds are aug- 
mented by the royal family, by means of three of 
the leading banks, and by shareholders, as iu our 
own theatres. Its representations are every day, 
including Sunday ; but in the Theatre du Pare 
they are only twice in the week, on the Saturday 
and mirabile dictu, for the supporters of Protestant 
and dissenting creeds, on the Sunday also. 



CHAPTER XII. 



Origin and Historical Associations — St. Gudule— Charlemagne — Fle- 
mish Knights— Modern History — Philip II.— Crusade — Association 
of Des Gueux— Regency of Princess Margaret — Historical Sketch 
— Napoleon — St. Gudule — Architecture — Notre Dame— Museum- 
Public Edifices, &c. 

Few cities are so interesting as Brussels, with 
regard to historical associations and stirring events. 
Its origin, as recorded in the old legends, is ascribed 
to St. Gery, who built a chapel in the sixth cen- 
tury, in a little island, formed by two streams of 
the Senne, still known by the name of its founder, 
who was also bishop of Cam bray and Arras. It is 
not till the tenth century we hear of Brussels as a 
town of importance, from which the emperor Otho 
II. dated his despatches, as Napoleon hoped to do in 
more recent times. Charles, son of Louis Outre- 
mer, chose it for the site of a palace ; and trans- 
ferred to the chapel of St. Gery, the body of St. 
Gudule, deposited in the time of Charlemagne, in 
the monastery de Moorsel ; and she thus became 



222 ANTIQUE BRUSSELS AND ITS ASSOCIATIONS. 

the grand patroness of the city. Its dominion was 
then dignified only by the name of Comptk, ; its 
palace was a castle, and Vilvorde and Tervueren 
were the limits of its domain. Balderic, count of 
Louvain and Brussels, surrounded the castle with a 
wall having seven gates, traces of which are yet 
remaining ; a second was constructed in 1380, ob- 
serving the same circuit as nearly as possible, as 
the present line of boulevards. 

In 1213, Brussels was besieged and taken by 
Ferrand, count of Flanders, and Salisbury, brother 
of the king of England, who wished to force Henry 
I., duke of Brabant, to abandon the alliance of 
France. Under the powerful dukes of Burgundy, 
the^ manufactories of arms, cloth, tapestry, and lace, 
rapidly added to its riches. The house of Austria, 
which succeeded, witnessed the further develop- 
ment of its resources, till the reign of Charles V. 
when, in common with the Low countries, it rose 
to its highest pitch of splendor. 

The Flemish knights were early famed for their 
chivalry, and at the head of the Brabanters the fa- 
mous Henry D'Assche joined the expedition to the 
Holy Land. Long supposed to be among those 
who were lost, his return was celebrated with the 
utmost pomp and rejoicing, and the anniversary of 
the 19th of January is still observed as a festival, 
called the Vrouwliem Avond, to honor the feats of 
arms, and the escape of their compatriots, as they 
had formerly been celebrated in the ducal palace 



FORMIDABLE BEGGARS. 



223 



at Brussels, to the high-sounding strains of the 
court minstrels, surrounded by the beauty and chi- 
valry of the land. 

Under Philip II., palaces with their splendid de- 
corations, and churches with their treasures of art, 
and even public institutions, became the prey of 
fanatic multitudes, driven mad by oppression, who 
violated sanctuaries, defaced monuments, and threw 
off all respect for the ceremonies of divine worship. 
The establishment of the inquisition served only to 
exasperate the public mind. The nobles entered 
into a compact, which they signed in Ghent, 8th of 
November, 1576, binding themselves to oppose the 
unjust decrees of the administration, while at the 
same time they took an oath, declaring that their 
sole object was the glory of the Catholic faith, and 
the preservation of their inalienable privileges. 
They attended at Brussels to the number of 250, for 
the purpose of presenting their petition ; they were 
received by Philip's sister the regent Margaret, 
attended by her minister Berlaymont, who was 
heard to apply to the petitioners the expression of 
des gueux, a term which the confederates adopted : 
it afterwards became the rallying cry of the Pro- 
testants and Calvinists ; and for their device they 
to >k a porringer and a wallet. Soon the Gueux 
des Bois began to walk their rounds ; they annoyed 
the Spaniards in every direction ; drew them 
into their toils, and attacked their Flemish parti- 
sans, while others took to the sea. The Gueux de 



224 



THE PRINCESS REGENT. 



Mer became intrepid adventurers, and the models 
of the military marine, so powerful an arm in the 
service. They were no longer mendicants. 

Margaret was unwilling to return any answer to 
the petitioners without the direction of the tyrant 
Philip. She instantly sent off a messenger, and 
attempted to quit Brussels, but the gates were 
closed. The reply of her fanatic brother was the 
arrival of the duke of Alva, at the head of an army, 
" to support the royal authority and to cause the 
Catholic religion to be respected." All who could 
make their escape, comprehending thousands of 
the industrious, as well as higher classes, be- 
took themselves to England and Germany ; and 
a system of persecution was commenced by the 
ferocious Alva, which ceased not till it reached the 
heads of the best and greatest, who still stood by 
their country. 

Yet with the deaths of counts Egmont and De 
Horne, and the flight of the prince of Orange, the 
resistance of the people was unsubdued, and the 
baffled Philip was at length compelled to recal his 
sanguinary governor, and replace him by Louis de 
Requesens, a man of comparative prudence and 
moderation. He died before the ensuing year, and 
was succeeded by the celebrated Don John of Aus- 
tria, natural brother of Charles V. ; and under him 
and the archduke Mathias, who succeeded him as 
governor, the country felt a short respite, during 
which the authority of the prince of Orange re- 



PUBLIC DEPOSITION OF PHILIP II. 225 

sumed its influence, and crowds of Protestants 
resorted to Brussels, and reopened their public 
harangues. On the 26th of July the deposition of 
Philip was publicly announced, on the ground of 
his having violated the privileges of the nation. In 
1584, the prince of Parma took up a position at 
Assche, with the design of besieging Brussels ; he 
was compelled to turn the siege into a blockade, 
which at length succeeded, and the Spaniards re- 
gained possession of the city. In 1598, having 
lavished the treasures of a new world, and sacrificed 
his subjects, in support of tyranny and superstition, 
Philip dissolved the connexion between the coun- 
tries, and the more auspicious reign of Albert and 
Isabella, commenced. They devoted themselves, 
with laudable zeal, to repair the disasters caused by 
preceding rulers ; they fostered science and the 
arts, and were the first of the Spanish and Austrian 
line, to revive useful institutions ; their deaths were 
deplored, and their memories justly cherished. 
When Mary de' Medici was exiled by the intrigues 
of Richelieu, she came to claim an asylum from the 
hospitality of the court of Brussels ; and Charles, 
duke of Lorraine, driven from his own dominions 
in 1649, took refuge in the same capital — the ge- 
nerous England of the age, that opened her arms 
to the unfortunate, of whatever party. The eccen- 
tric Christina, of Sweden, upon her abdication, came 
first to Brussels, and it was there, in 1564, that she 
abjured the Lutheran, and embraced the faith of 

Q 



226 HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

the Catholics. Two years afterwards Charles II. 
claimed the protection of the same friendly city, 
and it may safely be averred, that few places in 
Europe have been graced with the presence of so 
great a throng of illustrious exiles. 

The death of Charles II. of Spain in 1700, gave 
rise to the long disastrous war of the succession ; 
French troops occupied the city of Brussels, 21st of 
February, 1701, and the year following, Philip V. 
received the title of duke of Brabant. But at the 
peace of Utrecht, Brussels and the Low countries 
were again restored to the dominion of the house of 
Austria. 

The emperor Charles VI. assumed the sovereignty 
on the 11th of October, 1717, — the same year that 
the self-taught czar, Peter the Great, came on his 
tour of inquiry to the Belgian capital. Under 
Maria Theresa, who patronised great public works, 
Brussels became the entrepot of foreign merchan- 
dise, between England, France, and the rest of 
Europe, rapidly increasing in wealth and political 
importance. 

On the peace of Aix la Chapelle, duke Charles 
of Lorraine made his public entry, 28th of April, 
1749 ; his government was beneficent, gaining for 
him the rare title of the Good, during the exercise 
of his authority — in the name of Maria Theresa — 
for a space of thirty-six years. 

Joseph II., her successor, arrived in Brussels the 
22nd of June, 1781. It was the favorite object of 



ENTRY OF THE GREAT CONSUL. 227 



this potentate, to introduce into his Belgic pro- 
vinces, the laws already established in his other 
dominions ; but the states of Brabant declared 
themselves against what they termed an innova- 
tion ; they insisted upon the maintenance of the 
laws and privileges of their country, rose in arms, 
and declared that he had forfeited all titles to his 
sovereign authority in the Low countries. For 
some period a provisional government was conti- 
nued in the hands of the council of the newly-risen 
states. 

Leopold, who was selected to succeed Joseph in 
1791, swore to maintain the charter of the Braban- 
ters, and took possession of his new dominions. He 
was succeeded the ensuing year by Francis II., who 
had scarcely assumed the reins of government, 
when republican France deprived him of his new 
honors. The battle of Jemmappe opened the gates 
of Brussels to Dumouriez, on the 14th of November; 
Belgium became a province of France, and Brus- 
sels only the chef -lieu of the department of the 
Dyle. 

Upon the 21st of July, 1803, Napoleon, as first 
consul, made his public entry into Brussels, and 
the authorities crowded to render him the homage 
extorted by genius and good fortune in its young 
and brilliant career. Subsequent events, which 
terminated in the battle of Waterloo ; the accession 
of the Orange dynasty to the sovereignty of Bel- 
gium ; the revolution ; and the election, by a na- 

Q 2 



228 



CATHEDRAL OF ST. GUDULE. 



tional congress, of prince Leopold of Saxe Cobourg, 
the 4th of June, 1831, are familiar to all readers. 
The proverbial prudence, integrity, and good for- 
tune of his family, independent of his high personal 
qualities, and his acknowledged talent, offered the 
best guarantee which a prince can give, for a so- 
vereignty, presented by a free people, and resting 
upon wise and useful institutions. 

Upon our return through La Basse Ville, we 
took in our way the grand cathedral of St. Gudule, 
a fine specimen of the old Gothic. Lofty and ma- 
jestic, its site upon the declivity of a hill, the an- 
tique Molenberg, gives it a striking and imposing 
aspect. Balderic, count of Louvain, appears to 
have been its earliest founder, about the year 1010 ; 
it was dedicated to St. Michael, but subsequently 
the patroness saint Gudule shared this honor with 
him ; and it is still known by the united names of 
saints Michael and Gudule. Gerard, bishop of 
Cambray, consecrated it, and by the liberality of 
Balderic II., and the emperor Henry III., was 
enabled to form a chapter of twelve monks. Henry 
I., duke of Brabant, in 1202, confirmed the donations 
of his ancestors, and greatly enriched its posses- 
sions ; it was rebuilt in 1226, and Philip the Good 
held in it the first chapter of the order of the Fleece 
of Gold ; and in 1516, Charles V. also held the 
eighteenth chapter of the same order, within its 
spacious precincts. 

This noble edifice, like the St. Peter's at Rome, 



INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE. 



229 



is built in the form of a cross ; the grand portal is 
considerably elevated, to supply the inequality of 
the ground ; it is surmounted by two square towers 
of equal size, but which were never carried so high 
as originally designed. The character of the in- 
terior architecture is equally simple and grand ; the 
pillars which support the ceiling are of an enormous 
size, free from every kind of factitious ornament ; 
but ennobled by colossal statues, representing the 
Saviour, the Virgin, and the Apostles. They are 
not, however, in the best taste, except that of the 
Virgin, by Quellyn ; and a few of very superior 
execution by the well-known Duquesnoy. The 
high altar, bearing the date of 1723, was con- 
structed from the designs of Donkers ; on each side 
of the sanctuary we observed two fine statues, by 
Laurent Delvaux, transferred hither from the old 
abbey of AfHighem. The tabernacle contains a 
curious piece of mechanism, by means of which the 
holy sacrament appears at the will of the priest who 
administers it. Upon the left is the grand mauso- 
leum, raised by the archduke Albert, in honor of 
John II., duke of Brabant, and his consort, Marga- 
ret of England, bearing the respective dates of 
1312 and 1318. The monument is of black mar- 
ble, surmounted by a figure of a brazen lion, which 
is said to weigh upwards of 60001bs. Nearly oppo- 
site we noticed the monument of the archduke 
Ernest, who died in Brussels in 1595. The figure 
is clothed in its cuirass couchant, the shoulder sup- 



230 



TBIUMPH OF SUPERSTITION. 



ported on a cushion ; the sword by its side, the 
helmet at the feet, and the device inscribed, — Soli 
Deo gloria. Upon particular days of festival, the 
rich tapestry hangings are exhibited in the choir, 
representing the history of the celebrated miracle of 
the sacrament, or the miraculous wafers, said to 
have been saved from the hands of a sacrilegious 
Jew. He had stolen them, runs the tradition, from 
the altar, and to show his contempt for the Chris- 
tian religion, he summoned his brethren to meet in 
the synagogue, for the celebration of their profane 
and blasphemous rites. The day chosen was Good 
Friday, and, after showing their contempt for the 
holy emblems by every means in their power, they 
finally struck their knives into the wafers, which 
spouted blood, and threw the blasphemers senseless 
upon the ground. The tidings soon flew through 
the city — the perpetrators were denounced, and as 
speedily put to death by the infliction of the most 
cruel torments. 

To this day the wondrous triumph of the faith 
is commemorated, on the second Sunday in the 
month of July, by a solemn procession of the 
clergy, with an exhibition of the identical wafers ; 
and a book is still handed to the spectators, con- 
taining a full and particular history. 

The side chapel of St. Sacrement was likewise 
erected in commemoration of the same event. The 
interior is rich and splendid, spacious and lofty, — 
the four windows in particular, so richly wrought 



CHAPEL OF NOTRE DAME. 



231 



and decorated, give it a deep mellow light, in uni- 
son with the antique beauty and character of the 
architecture. The glass thus magnificently painted 
was by the hand of Roget. Here, too, on the right 
of the altar, we saw the vault which contains the 
ashes of the archduke Albert, and the Infanta Isa- 
bella, surmounted with a noble monument of white 
marble, the figures of both clothed with a religious 
habit ; but there is little in the style and character 
of the other monuments deserving particular men- 
tion . 

In the chapel of Notre Dame we saw the statue 
of Frederick de Merode, who was killed in 1830, 
surrounded by the brave Belgian volunteers. He is 
represented in the old national costume, as old as 
the Romans, the well-known blouse, just when he 
is mortally wounded, and in the act of trying to 
raise his weapon with his right hand. " Here," 
observed my friend, " you see the work of an ar- 
tist of whom Belgium has reason to be proud, as 
she is of him whom he has immortalised ; — what is 
your opinion ? " " That M. Geefs," was my reply, 
" has triumphed by the inspiration of his art rather 
than by skill over the difficulties which presented 
themselves, and not the least that of clothing his 
figure in the modern dress of the people. He has 
given the whole a nobleness and dignity becoming 
the place, the subject, and the character of the 
monument — and the event." "You are right," 
was the Belgian's reply, " he soars above the com- 



232 ANTIQUE PULPIT, WOOD CARVING, ETC. 

mon-place ; he can touch nothing he does not en- 
noble or adorn ; but the paintings here are scarcely 
worth observation." 

As an object of curiosity, showing the perfection 
to which the art of carving in wood was carried by 
the old Flemings, few specimens could be cited 
better worth examination, than the antique pulpit 
of St. Gudule. The design is wholly novel and 
original ; it was the work of Henry Verbruggen, of 
Antwerp, dating the year 1699, and executed for 
the Jesuits of Louvain. It was presented to the 
church which it now adorns, by the empress Maria 
Theresa, in ]776 ; the subject consists of Adam and 
Eve, driven by an angel from their terrestrial para- 
dise ; on the left, Death is seen in pursuit of them, 
while the figure of the Virgin above them, is in the 
act of crushing the head of the serpent with a cross 
which she holds in her hand ; on the two sides are 
seen two staircases, of which the balustrades are 
formed of trunks of trees, on which are the figures 
of a variety of animals. The workmanship is ex- 
tremely elaborate, and executed with a care, yet 
spirit and freedom of hand, rarely seen in works of 
the kind, though it was remarked by my Belgian 
critic, that the artist had displayed more imagina- 
tive power and invention than good taste. The 
choir is only separated from the nave by a simple 
gallery, which adds much to its imposing appear- 
ance. 

On quitting this noble edifice by the great por- 



CHARACTER OF BRUSSELS. 



233 



tal, we came on the right to the foundling hospital, 
erected by Walkenaers, a citizen of Brussels ; on 
the left, to the hospital of St. Gertrude, where the 
aged of both sexes are supported by voluntary of- 
ferings from the public institutions of the city, each 
receiving sixty centimes, or sixpence, — a plan of 
supporting the poor very generally adopted through- 
out Belgium, where there are no poor rates, — as well 
as by the collection for debtors and unfortunate pri- 
soners, at public entertainments, and at the tables 
d'hote. 

The churches of Brussels, though not comparable 
to those of Antwerp, in regard to treasures of art, 
are deserving the attention of the stranger; and 
we proceeded to the church de la Chapelle, founded 
in 1 1 40 ; a fine Gothic specimen, and divided into 
three naves, the principal, like that of St. Gudule, 
ornamented with statues by Duquesnoy and Fayd- 
herbe. The high altar is of variegated marble, 
executed after designs by Rubens, who painted for 
it an Assumption, of which the present is only a 
feeble copy. The one which represents Jesus ap- 
pearing to the Magdalen, is one of the chefs d'ceuvre 
of G. de Crayer. Other monuments deserve atten- 
tion, especially those raised to the house of Spinola 
and of De Croi ; the highly-wrought pulpit by 
Plumiers, represents the prophet Elias concealed 
under a rock, to avoid the rage of Jezebel, and the 
angel bringing him his food. 

Our next visit was to the new hospital for aged 



234 MUSEUM, PICTURE GALLERY, ETC. 

men, still attended by a few Beguines who survived 
the dissolution of their Brussels community. The 
church of the Beguinage was not commenced till 
the year 1657, and was finished within three years 
of that period. It is a fine edifice, and formerly 
contained some good paintings, of which a few of 
the best specimens went to enrich the Musee at 
Paris. In St. Catherine, however, which has no- 
thing remarkable in point of architecture, we saw 
an excellent picture by Crayer ; it decorates the 
high altar ; and in the choir to the right is a good 
specimen of Janssens, representing a duke of Cleves 
cured by the intercession of St. Vincent ; on the 
left, a Christ in the tomb, by Otto Venius. 

Leaving the churches, we next directed our steps 
to the Museum, in the old palace of the prince of 
Orange, and the residence of the governors of the 
Low countries. It is now the Palais des Beaux 
Arts ; and a portion of the buildings erected on the 
site of the old botanic garden, is appropriated to 
the exhibition of the national products of industry, 
which takes place once in every four years. The 
Picture Gallery contains several specimens which 
have been erroneously attributed to Rubens, being 
the works of his pupils, and so inferior to those at 
Antwerp, and at many other places, as scarcely to 
deserve notice. The strictures of Sir J. Reynolds 
were scarcely called for, on works from which M. 
Passevant and the best amateur critics, seem to agree 
in relieving the reputation of a great painter, whose 



BOMBARDMENT OF BRUSSELS. 



235 



want of chaste and correct design, could alone have 
authorised the supposition, that the Adoration of 
the Magi, Christ falling under the Cross, the Mar- 
tyrdom of St. Stephen, and Christ armed with thun- 
der to destroy the World, could have emanated 
from a mind and judgment like those of Rubens. 
Only in the Assumption of the Virgin could we 
trace some resemblance in the apostles and the two 
women, and the angels, here with the sky in perfect 
harmony; and the distribution of the lights partake 
of his beauty of coloring. The entire collection, 
indeed, contains but few tolerable specimens of the 
Flemish masters ; * and it is to be regretted, that 
some of the most valuable productions, by the best 
native artists, were destroyed in the horrible bom- 
bardment of Brussels, by marshal Villeroy, in 
August, 1695. Besides thousands of houses, and 
fourteen churches, with their profuse wealth of art, 
the finest works of Rubens and Vandyke shared the 
common calamity of the devoted city. The Mu- 
seum of Natural History, is, perhaps, the most com- 
plete in Belgium. It is rich in specimens from the 
Dutch colonies. The collection of mineralogy is 
also enriched with the Russian cabinet, presented 
by the princess of Orange. Add to these a com- 

* The collection of paintings and natural history, are open on Tues- 
day, Thursday, and Saturday ; but a stranger will gain admittance on 
any day or at any hour, by a small fee to the porter. The expense is 
exceedingly trivial compared with these things in England. 



236 



LIBRARY OF THE DUKES. 



plete series of the volcanic productions of Vesuvius, 
and the beautiful fossil specimens from Maestricht. 

The library, divided into two departments, con- 
tains 150,000 volumes, and not less than 15,000 
manuscripts and missals ; the treasures of centuries 
amassed by the dukes of Burgundy. Not a few 
are illuminated and enriched with precious minia- 
tures, showing an almost unfaded brilliancy of co- 
lors, by the best pupils of Van Eyck. # The chro- 
nicle of Hainault consists of seven folios, illumi- 
nated by Hemaling in an exquisite style. The 
greater portion of these valuable relics of a mighty 
age were collected by the accomplished Marguerite 
of Austria (properly of Burgundy), whose poetical 
genius we have already eulogized ; and as we stood 
in the centre of these sacred precincts, the noble an- 
tique air, the mellow light of the stained windows, 
the portraits of the old Burgundian dukes on the 
walls, the splendid bindings and gold clasps, made 
us feel as if we had shaken ofT the dust of the pre- 
sent times, and were transported into a world of the 
past. 

* Open every day except Sunday and Wednesday. 



CHAPTER XIII 



Residence at Brussels — True and False Fame — The Ducal Library- 
Public Spirit of Napoleon — Albums — Black and Crimson Damask— 
Annals of Love — Dances a la Mode — Palaces — Chambers — Traits- 
Parties — Princess of Orange — Ball Room, &c. — Curiosities. 

More than once we had stolen from the festive 
board, and the invitations of courteous Brussels' 
friends ; for if there be a truly refined and hospita- 
ble city, a good-natured and pleasant people, who 
will readil/ go out of their way to oblige you, they 
are to be found here and at Liege. " How long 
would you pore over this old ducal library ? " in- 
quired my humorous friend, " quousque tandem, 
Catalina ? you for ever refuse the civic dinner and 
the rural fete, to indulge a taste for these old Bel- 
gic chronicles and legends, in abundance enough 
to bury you under a pile of the sly monks' tales, 
like your poor Clarence in a butt of his own 
Malmsey. You may fight like Hector in the 



238 TRUE AND FALSE FAME. 



shade, if you please ; but I, like Ajax, only beseech 
the gods that they will grant me sun enough that I 
may see, not my enemies, but my friends ; and ac- 
cept as many challenges as possible to meet in 
regular battle array within the precincts — of the 
social halls. 

" Now lest you should think yourself into a ducal 
statue, you must shake this dust off your mind ; we 
have yet to see the halls and palaces, and having 
supplied yourself with lies and legends, I will tell 
you all the historical and the true that appertains 
to this glorious receptacle of ages past. The names 
of Philip the Good, and Aubert, its head director 
and conservator, are essentially connected with 
its foundation and future prosperity : Bruges sup- 
plied it with splendid parchments, — Greece and 
Italy with rare MSS., and Flanders herself with 
beautiful illuminated copies, and scarce editions in 
every department of learning. Philip had the 
whole Cyropaedia transcribed for the use of his son 
Charles the Bold ; and that very copy you now 
see was presented to the library by the present 
queen of the Belgians. It was the young duke's 
companion in his travels and campaigns, and at the 
battle of Naucy, 1477, where he was killed, it was 
lost, by his rashness and extravagance, like so many 
other noble specimens laboriously obtained. His 
grandson, Philip le Beau, the brother of your fa- 
vorite Margaret of Austria, was worthy of such a 
sister and of the sceptre he swayed ; indeed they 



TREASURES OF THE DUCAL LIBRARY. 239 

may be said to have reigned together ; to have 
made the people, and its glory in letters, arts, and 
prosperity, the object of their lives; and how keenly 
she regretted the loss of so great a coadjutor — to 
say nothing of his amiable temper and handsome 
looks, that gained him the title of Le Beau — her 
own effusions testify. How wofully did Belgium suf- 
fer by his early decease, when insanity, tyranny, 
and superstition, in the shape of a Philip II. and 
an Alva, came like a disastrous eclipse, and plunged 
the rising hopes and fortunes of the Low countries, 
and of Europe, in the blackest night ! How lament- 
able the contrast ! And here you have the MS. 
poems of that amiable and great princess, and the 
specimens with which she enriched her brother's 
library. Maria, queen of Hungary, sister of Charles 
V., presented this splendid missal of Matthias Cor- 
vinus, illuminated in Italy, and one of the finest 
manuscripts known in Europe. By this the Bra- 
bant dukes took oath to keep inviolate the Joyeuse 
Entree, part of the political rights of this province. 
You see where the Judas kiss has obliterated the 
picture, almost as completely as the consciences of 
the princely betrayers who soiled it. Indeed Philip 
II. would have destroyed the whole collection as a 
dangerous national monument, which kept alive the 
memory of brighter and better times, and of 
princes the very antipodes of his own harsh revolt- 
ing nature. Marshal Saxe, though he respected 
the ladies' promenade, ran away with some of these 



240 



PUBLIC SPIRIT OF NAPOLEON. 



treasures, which were not restored till the reign of 
Louis XVI. The republic next ransacked its col- 
lections, and Napoleon, with more policy, ordered a 
number of the volumes to be bound in red morocco, 
and stamped with the imperial arms. Belgium 
was indebted for their last restoration to the arms 
and councils of the conqueror of Waterloo ; and 
from the period of the revolution this truly national 
collection has remained open to the public. Our 
princes, who we will hope may live to remind us 
of the brilliant age we have described, have given 
orders to replace the portraits of our sovereigns of 
Burgundy ; to continue the splendid bindings of 
Napoleon, and to adorn the windows in the best 
style of the old art. Here again we observe the 
tact of king Leopold, and of the excellent govern- 
ment of which he is the best guarantee." " But 
here is the gem I wished to see," I exclaimed, " the 
common-place book of your noble governess, truly 
the pearl of princesses (Marguerite), which contains 
her government journals, her famous treaties, in one 
of which — Cambray — she proved a better diploma- 
tist than a wily cardinal ; and this is the curious 
energetic motto which she chose ; — Fortune, inf or - 
tune, fort une; and there are the arms on the cover; 
and this is her autograph. Ballads, too, in the old 
Flemish-French, in which she showed herself no 
unworthy emulator of Ronsard and his compatriots. 
Hear her ! if all our ladies' albums could be filled 
like this antique-looking oblong volume — in black 



MODERN PLATONISM. 



241 



damask — " couleur de ses fortunes" the perusal of 
them would be more popular; and the contributions 
to them, perhaps, more rare. 

Quel que soit, je vous oublieray, 

Pleust a Dieu que fut de ceste heure, 
Mais de tant plus, qu' a ce labeure, 

Tant plus en memoire vous ay. \ 

Come weal, come woe ! I said I would forget j 

And would, sweet Heaven ! it were this very hour ; 

I toil, but ah ! the more I toil, my power 
Is proved more vain — thy memory haunts me yet. 

The same strain of plaintive melody runs through 
all her effusions; she almost seems, as was observed 
of himself, by Lorenzo de Medici, whom she 
strongly resembled in her high statesmanship, as 
well as in her enthusiasm for the arts, and her 
poetical sensibility, to have had two souls, — one 
which she gave to the world and its affairs, which 
she knew how to direct, — the other to the un- 
worldly beautiful, the aspiring to the great and 
heavenly ; the high contemplative — the struggle to 
reach the invisible spiritual something — the old 
Platonic supreme good. This incessant longing 
of all high and sensitive minds (their inward light 
and sole real world) is beautifully developed in all 
her sentiments, and strikes to the innermost chords 
of all gentle and musing hearts. The history of 
her life appears to be summed up by this strange 
power, in a few expressive lines ; and we think we 
see and hear her before us : — 

R 



242 



ENGAGING TITLES. 



C'est pour jamais que regret me demeure, 
Qui sans cesser, nuit et jour, a tout eure, 
Tant me tourmant que bien voudroie mourir. 

It is for ever, — ever grief remains, 

That without ceasing, night and day, each hour 

Tears me within, till would death were my dower." 

" And soon," interrupted my companion in his 
rallying tone, " you will find out that our favorite 
governess had three souls, for here is another work 
in which her soul for music and dancing — a little 
at variance with her Platonic tunes — appears to 
have been exhaled or expressed. Plusieurs basses 
dances, eh ? A pretty quadrille book of the court ; 
— rich crimson damask ; — her own instructions for 
the dances a la mode, as they follow the music with 
each particular name, just the sets as they were 
called for by the living beauties of the hour, in the 
gay tapestried saloons of the then newly-decorated 
palace of Charles Quint. The very titles were 
enough to make the young dancers with counts, 
dukes, and emperors, fair votaries of love and the 
muse, such as La Doulce Amour ; Filles a Marier ; 
M' Amours ; Ma Vie ; Va-t-en, mon amoreux desir ; 
La Marguerite ; L' Esperance de Bourbon ; Le joy- 
eux de Bruxelles ; and others as dangerous to call 
for, which show the Belgians of that day to have 
been as animated and as fond of dancing as their 
neighbours, before the terrific scenes enacted by 
Philip and Alva struck their imaginations with 
stern and sombre images, which impressed them- 



PALAIS DU R0I, ETC. 



243 



selves on those of their children, and almost 
changed the national disposition for a period. 
" And behold another pearl, though not by one of 
the Marguerites," observed my friend, " but still 
the production of two beautiful women, for it was 
begun by Marie de Behercke, and finished by Wil- 
helma Del Vael. Here is a registry of their lady 
loves and griefs, and all the hommages rendered to 
triumphant beauty. But according to the old 
Flemish motto, "Naer lyden, kompt verflyden," 
" after pleasure comes pain," which you would find 
if you chose to pursue the chronicle of their loves — 
so soon turned into heartburnings and hates to its 
close. But it is fall time we return to the palaces." 

We found the Palais du Roi nothing to boast of, 
with reference either to its interior or exterior as- 
pect ; it is simple in its architecture, but rich and 
magnificent in its furniture and decorations. It is 
formed, in fact, of two hotels thrown together, and 
united by a sally porche, in seven arcades, support- 
ing six Corinthian columns, each upon a single 
stone block. An iron balcony traverses the entire 
extent of the edifice, which has a regular cornice, 
and a garden extending to the Rue Verte. During 
the French sway it was occupied by the prefecture 
of the department of the Dyle in 1803 ; Napo- 
leon, with the empress Josephine, resided in it dur- 
ing his stay at Brussels ; and in 1811 he brought 
his new empress Maria Louisa to occupy the same 
rooms, which it was doubtless again his intention 

r 2 



244 



THE TWO CHAMBERS. 



to do in the year 1815. One of the attractions of 
this palace is the delightful view it affords over the 
park and the adjoining scenery. The Palais du 
Roi contains some paintings by David, and a single 
excellent portrait by Vandyke, the celebrated 
" Chapeau de Velours." Any respectable person, 
we believe, may have admission to the interior in 
the absence of the royal family. 

From the king's palace the Place Roy ale extends 
as far as the Palais Representatif, — the national pa- 
lace or halls of the representatives. This edifice was 
erected in the time of Maria Theresa, from designs 
by Guimard, to hold the sessions of the ancient coun- 
cil of Brabant. The two chambers of the states- 
general were installed in 1818 ; and in the late 
change it has again adopted a new title, — the 
"Chambers of Congress." The fagade is decorated 
with eight handsome columns, surrounded by a 
triangular pediment, of which the fine bas-relief 
has been twice wrought by the sculptor Gode- 
charles, at an interval of above forty years. It re- 
presents a Justice seated upon a throne, the scales 
in her hand, surrounded by allegorical figures, — 
Religion, Constancy, Wisdom, and Force, — the last 
putting Discord and Fanaticism — a little late in 
the day — to an ignominious flight. We entered 
by a spacious and handsome hall, adorned with nu- 
merous columns, with a ground of fine marble ; to 
the right and left are spacious marble staircases, 
which conducted us to the respective chambers. 



TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 245 



We first visited that of the senate then assembled, 
and had the pleasure of hearing a very well con- 
ducted, temperate, and gentlemanly discussion, 
which struck me as exhibiting no little contrast to 
the violence, the party bigotry, the want of courtesy 
and good temper, which I had frequently had oc- 
casion to hear in other places of the kind, — a fact 
obvious to any one who has compared them. Yet 
we were not sensible of any deficiency in energy 
and spirit, — in freedom of debate, clear and forcible 
argument, — ease and fluency not unfrequently par- 
taking of eloquence, in regard both to action and 
expression. There was little in the coup d'ceil of 
the hall; it is quite ordinary: without ornament, — 
a round table covered with green cloth, — it can give 
no prestige or adventitious support to the words of 
a speaker, or impress the eye or the imagination of 
the spectator at the expense of his judgment. Il 
was a fair test of merit ; there were no wigs, gowns, 
or woolsacks, — and the manner and character of 
the debates, struck me as decidedly evincing a po- 
pular and free spirit of government. Among the 
questions moved for confirmation or rejection, war. 
an extraordinary supply for the war expenses, and 
a permanent provision for the destitute relatives oi 
the fallen, which were soon and satisfactorily dis- 
posed of. When I considered the different elements 
of which the senate was composed, even to secrel 
friends of the former dynasty, — and it is impossible 
it should not be so, — I felt bound to give the mem- 



246 



STATE OF PARTIES. 



bers credit for considerable moderation and forbear- 
ance. There is no question of succession between 
two houses; the conjunction of catholics and li- 
berals produced a new kingdom and constitution, 
in which new parties developed themselves, — the 
catholic aristocratic predominant ; the catholic in 
opposition ; a liberal party of the administration, 
and a liberal in opposition. The catholic aristocrats 
joined a fraction of the liberal, and these formed a 
majority which sustained the government. The 
actual opposition was reduced to one-fifth of the 
votes, and the republican fraction left without the 
shadow of support. The tacit compact between the 
catholic aristocracy and protestant royalty was thus 
cemented without protocol or conference. It was 
dictated by respective position and circumstances 
of parties, though the old diplomacy denied the 
necessity for any such arrangement. It is singular, 
then, that the catholic opposition should include 
even young abbes, remarkable for talent, for reli- 
gious fervor and sincerity ; though they have no 
direct influence within the walls of the chamber ; 
and without, the priestly power is decidedly on the 
wane. Out of the eight provinces, the two Flan- 
ders, Limburgh, Antwerp, a portion of Brabant 
and of Hainault, send deputies devoted to Catholi- 
cism ; but Brussels, Namur, Liege, and till recently 
Luxembourg, support liberal members with una- 
bated spirit. These, were it not for the mode of 
indirect voting, would, as regards public opinion, 



MEN IN THE ASCENDANT. 



247 



form the liberal government. Owing to the state 
of the franchise the catholic party in the two Flan- 
ders can dictate the elections by their influence with 
the lowest orders. They come to the vote with 
priests at their head; they are regularly marshalled 
in battle array, the stronger in the van, and the 
weaker in the rear, all assembled under pain of pro- 
hibited absolution. Upon one occasion the wicked 
liberals adroitly mingled with the flock of the 
faithful, and spread about the tickets bearing the 
name of the opposing candidate ; but the man- 
oeuvre was not crowned with success, and it was 
properly exposed and ridiculed by the catholic 
party. At the head of the latter was M. Van Bom- 
mel, bishop of Liege, and M. Sterx, archbishop 
of Malines. Both able and accomplished men, 
they respected their profession too highly to be- 
come active agents ; but they were regarded as 
the main-spring of the political religious system. 
Their alliance with the heads of the administration 
was the basis of the throne ; they confirmed the 
power of the Merodes, the Robianos, and the Vi- 
lains XIV., — the active central spring of the pure 
aristocratic doctrines of Catholicism ; but high- 
minded and patriotic, if their position and circum- 
stances be taken into account. A biographical 
sketch of such men — the palladium of the nobility 
and of the throne, and the actors in so interesting a 
drama, would afford a number of characteristic 
traits and anecdotes. M. de Bronckere, the philo- 



248 



MEN OF MIND. 



sopher Ahrens, M. Baron, and the celebrated Pole 
Lelewel, and numerous members of the adminis- 
tration, from the provinces of Liege and Namur, 
would each form a separate theme. The nanus of 
MM. Roget, Lebeau, Lecreq, De Gerlage, Ernst, 
Dumortier, De Theux, Dubus, M. de Muelenaere, 
M. Gendebien, Tielemans, and Lesbroussart, — some 
of whom we had the pleasure of hearing, as well as 
seeing, — will occupy a place in the political history 
of the country. M. Fleussu, of Liege, was chosen 
by the congress as one of the deputation to London ; 
M. Jullien and M. Fallon, equally distinguished 
themselves in their respective career. Belgium in 
fact abounds with men of political talent and 
business-like habits, calculated to do honor to a 
free state in their respective career. 

The second chamber — that of the Representa- 
tives — forms an amphitheatre not unlike the French 
chambers ; it is lighted from above, and surrounded 
by a semicircular row of stucco columns, behind 
which are arranged the rows of seats for the accom- 
modation of the spectators. The seats for the 
members themselves fill part of the same half 
circle, directly in front of the president's chair, and 
also opposite the tribune of the orators. A picture 
of the battle of Waterloo, — apparently painted in 
honor of the prince of Orange, the chief figure in it, 
— possessing no claims to particular notice, is seen 
in one of the halls. The rue de la Loi, in which the 
Hall of the Representatives is situated, contains also 



PALAIS DU PRINCE. 



249 



some of the best hotels in the town ; and they are 
in part occupied by the ministers of the interior, of 
the finances, of foreign affairs/ and of public works. 

From the National Palace of Representatives we 
proceeded to the Palace of the prince of Orange, 
erected at his private expense, the very year before 
the outbreak of the revolution. The king, with 
proper feeling, refused to take possession of it, 
though at first placed under sequestration, or to 
appropriate the least portion of its valuable contents. 
It is thus doubly interesting to the stranger who 
beholds this beautiful and exquisitely finished edifice 
to the greatest advantage, richly and even magnifi- 
cently furnished, in the exact state in which the 
princes left it, — a circumstance that gives to the 
tout ensemble an additional charm. It is in fact, 
one of the first objects of the tourist's curiosity, for 
though on a small scale, the good taste, the excellent 
distribution of the rooms, and the varied decorations, 
in addition to its choice collection of art, render it 
by far, the pleasantest among the numerous palaces 
which this fine city presents to the eye. Indeed, 
the cost of the interior decorations, including the 
paintings, has been estimated at no less a sum than 
200,000 francs, and in this respect it is perhaps the 
richest in Europe since the destruction of the Im- 
perial Palace of St. Petersburg. 

The plan of the building presents a right angle of 
220 feet in length by 60 broad ; but there is nothing 
striking in its exterior appearance. You enter by a 



250 



PICTORIAL TREASURES. 



spacious vestibule, the ground formed of varied and 
exquisitely polished roots of trees in the Russian 
manner, and through this you are conducted to 
splendid staircases of white marble by which you 
reach the first floor ; but before entering the rooms 
each stranger encases his feet in list slippers to save 
the chance of injury to the richly inlaid floors of 
beautifully variegated and polished wood. The 
first hall, that which was appropriated to the Prince's 
Aides-de-Camp, contains — An Annunciation, by 
John Van Eyck, painted for Philip the Good ; and a 
copy by Michael Coxie, of the famous work of Van 
Eyck in the cathedral of Ghent. It is also richly 
adorned with master-pieces of the Italian school, 
and a few Flemish and Dutch ; there is a Madonna 
of Andrea del Sarto ; a portrait of Rembrandt 
painted by himself; and a fine head of Holbein. 
In the audience chamber next to this, we observed 
a small shrine; and a St. Thomas, by Rubens; a St. 
Paul, by Andrea del Sarto ; the curious table in 
malachite placed between the two windows, and in 
the corresponding cupola which adorns the centre 
of the saloon : the worth of which is estimated at 
more than 500,000 francs. In the third are two 
pictures by that curious old master Steuerbout, both 
fine specimens, representing an event said to have 
occurred at the court of the emperor Otho. During 
the absence of the monarch, a lord, in whom he 
had great confidence, was falsely accused by the 
empress of an attempt on her honor; in one is 



DESCRIPTION OF SALOONS. 



251 



seen the execution of the count — in the other, the 
wife at the feet of the emperor, with the head of 
the husband in one hand, and proving] lis innocence 
by holding a red hot iron in the other. Both are 
highly finished, the coloring almost as fresh as when 
first laid on ; the design bears evidence of the 
period when it was drawn, in 1468. The reception 
hall is perhaps the most splendid ; it has a rich red 
ground of worked velvet, with large gold fringes, 
and the mirror over the chimney-piece, above twelve 
feet high, is said to be the largest that was ever 
cast. 

The blue saloon, which immediately follows this, 
was the princess of Orange's separate reception 
room ; where we met that exquisite portrait by 
Raphael of one of the pupils of this inimitable 
master ; a fine one by Vandyke ; a Magdalene by 
Schidone ; and a portrait of Diana of Poictiers by 
Da Vinci. Among the rich articles of furniture 
we saw a table composed entirely of lapis lazuli, 
estimated to be worth its weight in gold. It is said 
to have cost a million and a-half of francs, and was 
presented by the emperor of Russia, as well as the 
table and the cup in the audience room of the 
Princei 

We now enter the spacious dining hall, richly 
stuccoed, and here are a few select but splendid 
portraits, two of them by Vandyck, and both fine 
specimens ; and two by Velasquez, also the most 
favorable examples of that master, and in excellent 



252 



THE SALOON, BALL ROOM, ETC. 



condition, the colors as rich as they were two 
centuries ago. 

In the saloon of the maids of honor, we found a 
good specimen of Pietro Perugino, Raphael's master; 
a portrait of St. Augustine ; a Neptune upon the 
waters by Albano ; and a picture by Gonzales 
Coques, representing a Dutch family in a garden ; 
a group of flowers by Huysum ; a seascape by 
Backhuysen ; and a landscape with animals by 
Verboeckhoven. 

The grand saloon of audience, belonging to the 
Princess contains whole length portraits of the em- 
perors of Russia, Nicholas and Alexander. There 
is also a fine rural piece by Ruysdael ; another by 
Jean Both ; and two seascapes by the Dutch master 
Schotel. 

The ball room, however, is the most spacious and 
beautiful of all, and occupies the centre of the palace. 
The walls are of the whitest Carrara marble, and 
the light is only partially admitted from above. It 
is difficult to convey an idea of the dazzling splendor 
of this saloon when lighted up by thousands of wax 
lights, reflected from the rich polish and whiteness 
of the marble walls: twelve candelabra of golden 
bronze, hung from the spacious ceiling, cost 60,000 
francs. 

There are few cities so rich in private collections 
as Brussels. The inhabitants generally possess a 
taste for the arts, and there are hundreds of ama- 
teurs who, without pretending to form galleries, 



PRIVATE COLLECTIONS. 



253 



possess individual works, both of the old masters, 
and the modern school of Belgic art, which they do 
all in their power to encourage. The gallery of the 
due d'Arenberg — lately enlarged to a considerable 
extent, — is open to the public. It is almost wholly 
confined to Flemish paintings ; some family por- 
traits by Vandyke ; several of Rubens' sketches ; 
many Wouvermans, — Ostade — Ruysdael ; and a 
very choice Adrien Brauwer. We observed an 
elaborate specimen of Jordaens — the " Concert de 
Famille," an interior by P. Dehooge, masterly in 
point of perspective ; two Canaletti, and innumera- 
ble copies from Correggio, Rembrandt, and Claude 
Lorraine. Two of the specimens attributed to the 
latter master are evidently copies ; there are some 
pretty seascapes by Vernet, and a very pleasing 
Watteau. The portion added to it from the collec- 
tion of the deceased prince, consists chiefly of Rem- 
brandts, Gerard Dows, a Rubens, Jean Steen, and 
in particular an Adrien Van de Velde, of extreme 
beauty, two Wynandts, and several Italian and 
Spanish paintings. 

In the Hotel du Prince de Ligne there are a few 
very choice specimens from his rich gallery of an- 
cient paintings, at his castle of Bel CEil ; and in 
that of M. Maleck de Werthenfels, we saw an 
admirable selection in different departments, which 
my companion pronounced to be one of the best in 
the country. An idea may at once be formed of 
its rare value, when we mention, to begin with, a 



254 



BELGIAN OPINIONS. 



Gioconda of Da Vinci, which will not shrink from 
a comparison with the one in the Musee at Paris. 
A beautiful bust, from the original, by Geefs, is the 
admiration of all connoisseurs, and was deservedly 
appreciated by every one who saw it in the great 
exhibition at Antwerp. My friend next pointed 
out to me a Raphael, in his first manner, the unique 
gem, he added, of which Belgium could boast ; two 
of Paul Potter only inferior, he said, to the splendid 
specimens contained in the Musee at Amsterdam, 
and in that of La Haye. Next he led me to a St. 
Rosaire, by Rubens, a very beautiful and finished 
specimen ; and another, drawn to the life, of two 
children playing with a lamb ; two sketches of the 
same master, Christ between the two Thieves, the 
original of which is in the Musee at Antwerp. 
Then we came to a grand portrait of Vandyke, 
painted by himself, two of Murillo, both fine, one 
Velasquez, two Holbein, an Albert Durer, three 
portraits of Cranach, and one of Rembrandt. Ne- 
ver had we beheld a richer assemblage, in such a 
space, of gems of the early modern masters ; my 
friend, though he had often seen them, was quite 
enraptured at the expression of my admiration ; he 
seemed again to enjoy their sight for the first time, 
and, with M. Passe vant in his hand, would wil- 
lingly have devoted hours to this single collection. 
" Now you have the opportunity I wished," he 
said, " of comparing our native masters with the 
best Italian and Spanish models, — what think you 



CURIOSITIES. 



255 



of our Rubens, Vandykes, Rembrandts, Steens, and 
Teniers, — without the help, too, of our Van Eykes 
and Mendings, at the side of Da Yinci, Raphael, 
Murillo, and Velasquez ? " " That they deserve to 
be placed at the side of them," was my reply, 
" they lose nothing by it ; nor do they seem thrown 
into the shade, or to stand less in high relief than 
before." " That is the way to judge of them," 
exclaimed the count, rubbing his hands with evi- 
dent delight, " by the very simplest rules, — by the 
effect,- — by sustained impressions upon the eye and 
upon the mind. See, here is the famous Predication 
of St. John, let him exhort you ; the fire is already 
leaving your eye ; and this is a corps de garde of 
Teniers, of which we saw the copy by Tilbourg, in 
the collection of the due d'Arenberg. 

" There is also a small cabinet of curiosities, — a 
scribanium, or writing desk, which belonged to 
Margaret of Parma, — an admirable piece of mecha- 
nism, which is exhibited for the benefit of the poor. 
See how ingenious ! it divides into two compart- 
ments, the upper of which is the work of your old 
acquaintance Cellini ; (for I know you edited his 
works, as well as that of Lanzi) decorated with splen- 
did silver inlaid work, and sparkling with thou- 
sands of genuine precious gems, — the inferior is 
the work of Boulle, which for perfection surpasses 
everything we know of that celebrated sculptor and 
ivory w T orker. 

" The history of the scribanium would in itself 



256 



WANT OF PUBLIC SPIRIT. 



make a very pretty novel, though sufficiently par- 
taking of that modern ingredient for which we 
should find a new name — called scandal. It would 
be curious to follow its possession through different 
hands, till it came into those of the Brussels com- 
mission for the conservation of the Musee. By 
them it was sold for a sum ludicrously low, which 
would scarcely pay half the price of one of the 
agates that adorn the top of the pretty toy-port 
made by Boulle. Whether ignorance or negli- 
gence, it is the same ; Brussels confided some of 
the most precious objects of art to a commission 
which sacrificed not only mechanical curiosities but 
paintings, and objects of art intimately connected 
with historical associations of the city. There is 
for instance that magnificent model of the waving 
tower of prince Charles of Lorraine, lost ; and so it 
would have been with the cradle of the emperor 
Charles V., still buried in the dust of the garrets in 
the Musee, had not public indignation been di- 
rected towards it by the pitiful sale of the duchess's 
secretaire. It has not however been the lot of Ru- 
bens' fowling-piece, richly set and silver mounted, 
an exquisitely formed barrel of proof, whether or 
not it belonged to the lord of Steen." 

In the collections of Colonel Bire, Colonel 
Moyars, M. Van de Becelaer, and the baron de 
Wykersloot, we also found some more modern spe- 
cimens, besides Gerard Dows, Vandeveldes, Hob- 
bema, Berchem, Koekock, Schelfhout, and Schotel ; 



PICTORIAL SPECULATIONS. 



257 



the most of them Dutch artists, and the specimens 
of them very good. 

The comte Vilain Quatorze, has in his possession 
an exquisite painting, belonging to the school of 
Raphael ; — the Virgin and the Infant, with com- 
partments equally beautiful in the old style of the 
art. It is difficult amidst so wide and rich a field, 
to delineate particular subjects ; but in addition we 
should advise strangers to consult the select few 
which adorn the rooms of le comte Coghen, Charles 
de Brouckere, M. Van der Belen, Van Nieuwen- 
huysen, Tielens, Coor, Van der Meeren, Ost, Le 
Roy, Puttemans, and M. Van Callemberg. 

Speculators in pictures are pretty numerous at 
Brussels. M. Heris enjoys great celebrity in this 
line, and few pictures in Europe have recently 
fallen to the hammer, which have not first passed 
through the hands of the pictorial giant and mono- 
polist of his age. En passant, at least we had the 
good fortune to see that fine historical landscape of 
Teniers, in which he has painted himself and his 
family, seated before his pleasant house, the Dry 
Toren, at Perck, near Vilvorde, as already de- 
scribed ; and there is a Family Festival, by Jean 
Steen, and an Interior, by A. Van Ostade, than 
which nothing can be imagined more true. Hence 
we passed through the Place des Martyrs, formerly 
de St. Michael, — in the form of an oblong parallel- 
ogram, planted with a double row of lime trees, 
and surrounded with handsome edifices and co- 

s 



258 



PLACE DES MARTYRS. 



lumns of the Doric order. It was first constructed 
by Fisco in 1775, and has been justly extolled as 
one of the best-formed squares in Brussels. It 
forms an agreeable promenade, at one time dedica- 
ted to the patron saint of the city. It is situated at 
the north east extremity, and in the memorable 
days of 1830 it was selected for the burial-place of 
the fallen. More than 300 were interred on a sin- 
gle day ; the ceremony was attended by numbers 
of the clergy, and an immense throng of armed 
patriots. The central part was deeply excavated in 
order to admit four rows of Sarcophagi, from the 
midst of which rises a lofty pedestal, surmounted 
by a colossal statue of Liberty in white marble, 
by the celebrated Geefs, who has represented the 
moment when she has just broken the chains of 
Belgium, which lie scattered at her feet. 

These precincts, held sacred by the patriotic party, 
and respected by the higher classes and nobility, as 
the statue of M erode, in the Blouse bleu, sufficiently 
attests, embrace also a small garden filled with 
shrubs and beds of flowers, distributed with taste 
over the whole of this vast and magnificent tomb. 

The environs of Brussels, like those of nearly all 
the great towns of Belgium, abound with objects of 
historical interest and of the highest picturesque 
character. The ruins of the old feudal castles, as 
you proceed towards the south, frowning from lofty 
crag, or over the dark glen, of splendid abbeys and 
lonely monasteries, — the bell-capped mansion and 



ENVIRONS OF BRUSSELS. 



259 



modern chateau, afford views of varied beauty, and 
full of pictorial effect. In whatever direction you 
bend your steps you meet with scenes still attract- 
ive to an artist's eye, and it is for this reason that 
on reaching Brussels, a stranger who really wishes 
to become acquainted with Belgium, the peculiari- 
ties of its scenery and its inhabitants, should adopt 
the national dress, and wholly abandon the high 
route, except occasionally to convey him to a fresh 
vicinity, which he should completely explore, and 
contrive, as far as possible, never to retrace his 
steps. This was the plan we adopted — with our new 
costume — on leaving Brussels to visit the pleasant 
valley and little village of Etterbeck ; the noble 
park of La Cambre ; Boisfort, a perfect Swiss ham- 
let, shadowed with the dark line of the forest, and 
above all the Gronendale, amidst whose glades and 
dells, crowned with rich woods and picturesque 
ruins, you hear — 

" The ceaseless warbling of the bird of night." 

It was here the Infanta Isabel retired from the 
cares and sorrows of a court ; Charles V. bade fare- 
well to his ambition ; and a modern prince and 
statesman banished himself from the beautiful para- 
dise he had adorned on the outbreak of the revolu- 
tion. We retired with regret from the beautiful 
pavilion and rendezvous de chasse, and set out for 
the plains of Waterloo. 

s 2 



CHAPTER XIV. 



The second Pharsalia — Scenery of the South — Dinant and its Vicinity 
Historical Facts Ruins of Bouvignes and Franchimont — Adven- 
tures and Escapes Romantic Passion — Traditions of Liege — Su- 
perstitious Hours — Eccentric Characters — Scenery round the Ar- 
dennes Environs of Liege Optical Effects. 

We spent several hours on that magnificent field 
which, like Pharsalia, seemed to us to have been 
formed for deciding the destinies of a world, which 
crowned its hero with the last of his hundred vic- 
tories, — but has been too often described to merit 
further details, except from the pen of great mili- 
tary men. Our object was the banks of the Sambre 
and the Meuse ; the picturesque scenery round the 
towns of Namur, Dinant, Liege, Spa, and the old 
forests and vales of the Ardennes. The route from 
Brussels to Namur calls for no remark ; it is be- 
tween Namur — -the city of the citadel — and Dinant 
that we meet with a succession of varied and beau- 
tiful scenery from points of view that offer the most 



DTNANT UPON THE MEUSE. 



261 



picturesque coups dJoeil — on a small scale affording 
those pretty contrasts, those milder features, which 
in landscape produce what is termed repose ; or as 
one of our poets beautifully expresses it, " the sab- 
bath silence of the hills." The eye is never wearied 
with the continued variety of lofty and richly-varied 
rocks, old castellated ruins on the declivity of the 
hills, the pretty hamlets and streams usually found 
at their foot, — pleasant mansions surrounded with 
flower and fruit gardens ; and flower enamelled 
meadows on the skirts of groves vocal with the 
songs of a thousand birds, diversified as the colors 
of the woods and rocks that heighten the delicious 
scenery around you. 

Dinant, as it here appears in semblance as true 
as the echo to the voice, lies embosomed, as you see 
it, in the heart of the richest scenery of the Meuse, 
between the river on one side, and on the other en- 
closed and shut in with its proud jutting citadel, its 
range of rocky eminences beyond, which, with its 
grand roche Bayard, form its natural and majestic 
outworks, not only serving as a defence but as a 
foundation and integral portion of the town. Not 
less ancient than its fortress, it figured early in the 
Christian era, and in the fifth century it united with 
Huy and Liege, in opposing the power of the House 
of Burgundy. The Dinanters declared war against 
Philip le Bon, and entered his comte de Namur, 
where they committed the greatest excesses. Highly 
indignant, the duke raised an army, and, but for 



262 



HISTORICAL TRAITS. 



the intercession of the bishop of Liege, would have 
utterly destroyed the city. 

In the reign of Louis XL, they were again incited 
to resistance, and in the idea that the comte de 
Charolais had been worsted by the Liegeois, they 
burnt him in effigy at the entrance to the town of 
Bouvignes. fi See," they exclaimed, " the son of 
your duke, the traitor count de Charolais, whom 
the king of France will cause to be hanged as you 
see him hang here." To show them he was not 
yet hung, the duke laid siege to the place ; it was 
incapable of a long defence ; and Philip offered 
them terms of capitulation, which they rejected, 
and hung the bearer as they had threatened to do 
his son. Justly incensed, the duke gave the assault, 
and the magistrates shortly sent a deputation, offer- 
ing him the keys of the town. During three days 
it was given up to fire and pillage ; the governor 
was hung from the top of the vast rock that over- 
hangs the river, and many of the inhabitants were, 
two by two, precipitated into the waves; nor did the 
duke quit the horrid scene till he had beheld Di- 
nant entirely razed and consumed. The lesson, 
however, seemed lost on the survivors if there were 
any; for in 1554, having rebuilt their town, they 
had the foolhardiness to take part in the war be- 
tween Henry II. of France, and Charles V. When 
asked by the duke de Nemours if they would pre- 
serve a neutrality, the Dinanters made the elegant 
reply, that if they caught either the king or the 



POINTS OF VIEW. 



263 



duke, they would assuredly eat the best parts of 
them for their breakfasts. As fortune would have 
it, however, the two Frenchmen — though only two 
— devoured the Dinanters, city and all, which they 
gave up to pillage. In its history, indeed, Dinant 
may be said to be almost merged in that of Liege 
and Namur, in regard to which it performed only 
a subsidiary part. 

The approach from the point in which the artist 
took the accompanying view, is striking and pic- 
turesque ; and when the evening sun gilds the spire 
of Notre Dame, and the salient parts of the fortress 
and surrounding hills, it appears illumined with a 
golden flood. The church itself presents a noble 
monument of the fifteenth century ; the Hotel de 
Ville served as a palace for the prince of Liege; the 
castle was erected in 1530, by Evrard de la Marck, 
bishop of Liege, upon the site of the famous tower 
of Montorgueil. 

After visiting the romantic castles of Freir, Wal- 
sin, and the vast Roche Bayard, pierced by Louis 
XIV., we crossed the river, to obtain a more com- 
manding view of the splendid ruins of an antique 
tower, erected on the summit of a vast rock, as early 
as 1321, and which bears the singular name of 
Creve-eceur, or heart-break, — derived from the 
circumstances which attended the fate of its former 
possessors. From its walls three lovely sisters are 
stated to have beheld their respective lords fall in 
battle, defending the castle from its invaders ; and 



264 



SCENERY ON THE MEUSE. 



when on the point of falling into the enemy's hands, 
choosing death rather than dishonor, they threw 
themselves from the loftiest battlements,— an event 
that is referred by contemporary authorities to the 
year 1554. The ruins of the castle are still a conspi- 
cuous object, and with the character of the surround- 
ing scenery, the wooded and jagged rocks, the bright 
expanding river, the town and fortress of Dinant 
resting upon the hills seen beyond, as represented 
from the point of view in which the artist has here 
given them, with the road passing immediately under 
the frowning precipice, form a coup d'oeil of extreme 
beauty, and one which conveys an admirable impres- 
sion of the scene. The effect of the sun -light upon 
the spires and towers ; the rich hues reflected in the 
waters, the deep blue, and green tinged sky, threw 
a halo of warm and brilliant colors over the spot as we 
saw it, than which nothing could be more attractive 
to a painter's eye. It is perhaps of all the most pic- 
turesque and romantic that is to be seen along the 
banks of the Meuse. Upon again reaching the foot 
of the tremendous rock from which frowns the once 
stately castle in ruined grandeur, a handsome equi- 
page with outriders dashed suddenly by; and look- 
ing round I beheld the royal arms and livery. It was 
king Leopold returning from a visit to Paris ; but 
more immediately from his new country seat, plea- 
santly situated between Namur and the frontiers. To 
this he is said to be extremely attached, and makes 
it his favorite place of residence, for shooting, fish- 



BOUVIGNES, FRANCHlMOtfT, ETC. 265 

ing, as well as for his rural occupations, in materials 
for all which it abounds, far more than the palace 
grounds of Laeken. Simple and manly in all his 
tastes, there was nothing gaudy, or which partook 
of the pomp and tinsel of mere display in his 
appearance and style of travelling. 

The village of Bouvignes lies at the foot of 
this magnificent mountain ; and in the wars of 
the Liegeois we hear of one of its lords, Messire de 
Creve-cceur, of Corde, who assailed them with so 
much spirit that they fled in a moment, notwith- 
standing their long pikes, with which they pushed 
the archers. In the feudal wars of these stirring 
times, no one was so conspicuous as William, sur- 
named the Wild Boar of Ardennes, who scattered 
his foes as his namesake rends the brushwood of the 
forest. Another dreaded name was Charles the 
Bold, who not only routed their forces, but fixed the 
yoke on the necks of the refractory cities who dis- 
owned his sway. The fine old castle of Franchimont, 
the ruins of which we visited, in our walks along the 
Meuse, — between Verviers and Spa, — poured forth 
its knights, nearly a thousand, armed cap a pie 
against the famed duke, devoting themselves to 
almost certain death, and their exploits were sung 
by the great national bards : — 

" Dirai-je, en celebrant la valeur des Liegeois, 
Le noble devouement de ces Franchemontois, 
Qui firent (du tr^pas victimes volontaires) 
L'offrande de leur sang pour affrancliir leurs freres, 



266 



BARBARITIES OF WAR. 



Surpassant d'autant plus les Deems mom-ants, 
Qu'au lieu de trois heros, Liege en compte six cents." 

These brave men of Franchimont nearly suc- 
ceeded in .surprising the duke and freeing their 
countrymen from his iron grasp ; they penetrated 
the tent of Louis XI. ; another moment and their 
oppressors would be their captives ; but with the 
approach of day their number was ascertained, and 
they fell like the Spartan in the straits. Never was 
desolation greater than that which followed the 
duke's occupation of Liege after the battle ; the 
happiest were those who fell in the action. Fathers 
were seen in the act of immolating their daughters 
to save them from pollution as well as death ; sis- 
ters were seen soliciting death from their brothers ; 
the brides and the betrothed from those dearer to 
them than life ; and in default of stern honor suf- 
ficing to inflict it, laying violent hands on them- 
selves ; for so great was the inhumanity of the 
victors, that they sought to make parents the in- 
flictors of torments upon their own offspring. The 
duke and his myrmidons meantime feast to the 
sound of this terrific music, and cries of mercy are 
in vain addressed to him who never felt and never 
found it, when he lay stripped and exposed, — slain 
by his enemies on the battle field. It is a singular 
fact that the principal actors in this bloody tragedy 
nearly all perished by a violent or dreadful death. 
Imbercourt was beheaded ; Louis de Bourbon was 
assassinated by William the Wild Boar ; and Louis 



ADVENTURES AND ESCAPES. 



267 



XI. perished in prolonged tortures of soul and body 
almost unprecedented ; while De la Marck, the 
assassin, lost his head upon the scaffold. 

In the dreadful sack of Liege by a prince of 
Orange in 1568, many singular and hair-breadth 
escapes have been related, which almost exceed 
belief. The }^oung and beautiful Catherine de 
Goor, abbess of Herkenrode, had the presence of 
mind at the moment of assault to exchange dresses 
with a miller's boy ; she mounted in his place ; and 
drove the horses out of the city gates to the safer 
asylum of a neighbouring mill. - Headed by their 
bishops, the Liegeois often renewed the struggle, 
and frequently with success ; and another instance 
of singular fortitude and address is recounted of a 
young lady of rank, — Beatrice Delvaux, who was 
surprised in an isolated situation, and about to fall 
a victim to the brutal appetite of a common soldier. 
She promised freely to gratify the wretch's wishes, 
if he would withdraw with her to a particular spot, 
— he consented,— and when they drew nigh to it, 
she seized her opportunity and hurled him headlong- 
down an open shaft, not unfrequent round that part 
o f Liege. 

To the old convent of St. Walburgh there 
attaches also a legend which long passed from 
father to son, and became the burden of many a 
mournful ditty. An orphan youth of Borle was 
taken into the house of his uncle to learn his busi- 
ness, but he proved a tyrant — a harsh man who had 



268 



ROMANTIC PASSION AND EXPLOIT. 



amassed money and wanted to amass more, without 
paying a doit to him who worked for it. Provi- 
dence generally repays this ingratitude in the 
manner it deserves. He was the father of a beautiful 
girl named Lamertine, who had not beheld the 
merit of the young clerk with equal indifference. 
It was long before either suspected the nature of the 
other's feelings ; and it had been longer had not 
older and uglier eyes than their own been upon 
them. It was this which first opened theirs to the 
real truth ; and no sooner had they expressed their 
mutual wishes, and exchanged eternal vows, than 
the young man was driven with ignominy from the 
rich man's door. The daughter at the same time 
became a prisoner ; with the sole option of marry- 
ing another or burying herself for life in a cloister. 
She did not hesitate, and joined the fair Sepulcrines 
of St. Walburgh. 

We may better imagine than describe the in- 
terval between the banishment of the youth and his 
discovery of the irreparable evil that had befallen 
himself, and her on whose head he had so early 
brought misfortune ; no language could give an 
idea of the sufferings each endured for the other. 
He knew the convent ; and chance gave him a 
knowledge of the very spot where she was immured. 
After many struggles he resolved to risk even 
her fame dearer to him than life — once to see, to 
hear her voice once more. Walls and bars seem 
no longer an obstacle ; and on the ensuing night 



LE CHIEN DE LA RONDE. 



269 



they converse like Romeo and Juliet. To fly and 
live only for each other is the resolve of a moment. 
The means are supplied ; she is descending into his 
arms ; another step and she is safe — when from the 
excess of terror or emotion her tender hands lose 
their grasp : one piercing cry and the rush of the 
air tell the hapless lover through the darkness all 
the horrors of his fate. The next moment she 
breathed her last sigh in his arms. He fled madly 
from the spot; nor, according to the legend, was he 
afterwards seen, having, it is conjectured, flung 
himself into one of those pits with which the vicinity 
abounds, thus sharing the fate of her he loved. 
Some thought he had retired among the Trappists, 
his sisters having two years afterwards put on 
mourning, and the church of Borle performed a 
mass for the peace of his soul. 

Not a few traditions have survived connected with 
the citadel of Liege, among which specially figures 
the flogging major's ghost, or le chien de la Ronde — 
calculated for the meridian of the old soldiers' cups. 
The major, it seemed, played the spy upon the sen- 
tinels ; and the better to surprise them napping 
approached them on his hands and knees ; he had 
often had the men punished ; till one, more inge- 
nious than his fellows, having one night caught 
sight of him, gave the qui vive three times, and 
receiving no answer* very coolly shot the "crawling 
dog of a major," as they termed him, through the 
head. Of course the culprit was had up, but 



270 



SUPERSTITIOUS HOURS. 



having fired according to orders was acquitted. 
But "the dog of a major" did not quit him so 
easily, for the ensuing night on watch an immense 
one ran under his legs — le chien de la Ronde had 
commenced his rounds — and it rested only with the 
priest to lay the canine phantom of the more than 
ever dreaded major. From the mere circumstance 
of night watching, — the most approved recipe for 
seeing ghosts, — no people are so prone to supersti- 
tion as soldiers and sailors ; and thus, though the 
bravest of mankind from habit and experience, 
none look at the supernatural with so much undis- 
guised dread. The Friday of the seaman — and the 
dead hour of the night — a significant phrase pecu- 
liar to the soldier, to show to whom it belongs, no 
man of common sense among them ever dared to 
tempt without repenting his rashness. An event 
which produced a very lively emotion, or rather the 
opposite of lively, throwing a whole family into the 
utmost consternation, is recorded to have taken 
place exactly in the neighbourhood of the major's 
mishap, the scene of le chien de la Ronde s nightly 
walks. But I must first observe that whether or 
not the latter had undergone another metempsy- 
chosis, it is certain there subsequently appeared 
a very singular character among the military 
who formed the garrison of Liege. He entered 
the regiment of Le Prince ; appeared to have seen 
long service ; professed himself a Liegeois, and 
held on his thirty years probation for invalideship 



AN ECCENTRIC CHARACTER. 



271 



with extraordinary spirit and perseverance. It was 
his conduct and habits during and after this period, 
which excited the suspicions not only of his mess- 
mates, but of the inhabitants ; for he buried him- 
self in the most complete obscurity ; went out at 
nights, — visited the most retired places, — and was 
supposed to be holding communion with those 
whom he should rather avoid. He was besides a 
great economist, and refused to pay visits and to 
give dinners — an inexpiable offence in the eyes of 
social and generous stomached officers ; and he soon 
found, like the major, that it is as well to hang or 
shoot him as to give a dog a bad name, whether 
given by the soldiers or by their officers. He was 
revered by the soldiers as the major had been 
hated ; and was hated by the officers as the major 
had been reverenced, for his sneaking discipline on 
all fours to catch a sentinel asleep ; and for which 
he retained so fourfooted a predilection after death, 
which certainly had the effect of keeping the fellows 
wide awake, for never more dared they to wink 
an eye till they were relieved. But the captain 
was quite of another stamp, — he became part and 
parcel of the soldiers' joys and troubles ; — he fed 
the hungry, doctored the sick, worked on the ram- 
parts for the weary, threw himself into the gap for 
delinquents, played with their children, and fol- 
lowed them, after paying them the last offices, to 
the grave. Yet withal he had the most infamous 
character with all other ranks, and even among 



272 THE MAGIC OF DOING GOOD. 

them for works of necromancy, and his nightly 
attendance upon some horrible and forbidden rites. 
Yet when a strong north-wester blew right in the 
teeth of the demi-lune, the most exposed point of 
the citadel, — when he drew nigh the poor exhausted 
sentinel in the mid-watch, trembling alike with 
cold and fear, and invited him to warm himself at 
his hearth and repose upon his couch, while he 
shouldered the musquet in the youth's place, — all 
suspicions vanished before the inspiring voice of 
" Go my boy, and warm yourself at my fire, while 
I mount guard with your cloak and gun." 

Among his other accomplishments, being an 
admirable mimic, he ran no risk of discovery, for 
he was then supposed to be deeply busied with the 
secrets of the black art. 

During fifty winters the kind-hearted and bene- 
ficent soldier ministered to the wants and sufferings 
of his poorer brethren ; the influence of his example 
was not lost ; for them he lived and for them he 
died in obscurity ; and his memory is still che- 
rished by the oldest soldiers in the garrison, perhaps 
most of all because his active beneficence went far 
to relieve them from their fears of le chien de la 
Ronde. In a sphere befitting so good and magna- 
nimous a being, who resented not even the suspi- 
cions of those whom he benefited, he would have 
vied with the greatest and most successful reformers 
of mankind ; for had he, as reported, the magic 
possession of an inexhaustible fund it was a magic 



DE LAUNAY AND HIS ART. 



273 



beloved by the wives and daughters of the poorest 
officers and soldiers, as well as by those of the sur- 
rounding peasantry, who yearly adorn his tomb 
with flowers. In our walk round the ramparts the 
oldest soldier, who officiated as a guide, was our 
companion, and happily so, for they are so singu- 
larly constructed in a successive series, and the ter- 
mination is so overgrown with verdure, that unless 
a stranger uses great precaution he may be apt to 
walk over a precipice or two. He related to me the 
manner in which the old captain took leave of his 
fellow soldiers,— the French revolutionists were at the 
gates ; the garrison was drawn out on the parade 
of the citadel — under arms from daylight till seven 
o'clock at night. The French batteries at Hove- 
mont were scattering the branches of the trees 
above the place where they stood ; but the aged 
invalid was seen pacing along the ranks, and press- 
ing the hands of each, while there was scarcely a 
dry eye, for he was leaving them for his last home. 
" Adieu, friend L — , adieu. God bless you," was 
heard from line to line. " Adieu, my children, my 
friends," replied the old man, as he took a last 
leave of the scene of his self-devoted and benignant 
deeds. 

Another eccentric character who made his ap- 
pearance among the medical officers of the garrison, 
was De Launay, a man intensely devoted to the 
study of the practical sciences; and more especially, 
as it appeared, of anatomical investigations. He 

T 



274 



A STARTLING ADVENTURE. 



one day marked the spot where the body of a suicide 
had been laid without the precincts of holy ground. 
The surgeon major in chief was the learned Demets, 
whose house had a back entrance at the termination 
of the declivity in coming from the heights of the 
citadel. De Launay obtained permission to remove 
the body to his exhibition room, in order to supply 
a few lectures for the young students. With two 
sergeants and an assistant surgeon, and with extreme 
toil and difficulty, they contrived to raise it to the 
point called the 600 degrees. The height was 
covered with snow and exceedingly slippery ; it 
was December ; and at last they hit on the expe- 
dient of a sledge, on which to convey it with more 
ease, especially in descending the other side. Like 
sons of Aymon, these knights of the sledge acquitted 
themselves with great bravery and dexterity, till 
they came to a sudden turn in the declivity which 
completely upset the surgeon and the two sergeants, 
leaving De Launay alone with the body of the 
suicide proceeding down — down, at a high-pressure 
engine speed. At length, after some hard rubs, the 
sledge finds its level like the water, and falls into 
the old dry ravine, at the bottom of which stands 
the entrance to the house of the old major doctor. 
It was a terrible crash — that, which drove in the 
door of the quiet family mansion ; — the coffin flew 
into a thousand shivers, — and the living and the 
dead are very unceremoniously emptied into the 
laps of the doctor's lady and his daughters, to the 



FATE OF ECCENTRICITY. 



275 



no small terror of all the inmates and their neigh- 
bours. Besides fainting fits in abundance, " one of 
the ladies was seized with an attack of jaundice/' 
says the city chronicler , " which had nearly cost 
her her life." So terrible was the reputation 
acquired by De Launay in this feat, that, like a 
second Richard Cceur de Lion, his name became the 
talisman to hush the cries of naughty children ; and 
when at length he died, all the noisy urchins round 
the citadel piled a heap of stones upon his grave, 
not to raise a pyramid to his memory, but in the 
hope to prevent his ever getting up again. 

On our return, after partaking an excellent 
table d'hote,* we took a pleasant stroll as far as 
the Etablissement des Plantes, an extensive and 
magnificent collection — botanical, herbal, and floral, 
formed with wonderful care and taste, and as ad- 
mirably arranged by the ingenious and scientific 
M. Jacobs de Makroy. It would be difficult to 
point out the rarest plant that has not its habitat 
in one of the splendid series or divisions of hot- 
houses ; with gardens which contain so great a 
profusion of specimens, and so many curious va- 

* At " Les Deux Fontaines/' our head quarters, — and excellent 
ones they were ! For variety and abundance — exquisite wines and 
viands — moderate charges ; courteous and even devoted attentions to 
its guests, no establishment in Liege can surpass "Les Deux Fon- 
taines ; " or the genuine good-humored politeness and superior well- 
informed character of its host. It is quite surprising how every com- 
fort, elegance, and even luxury, including fine Moselle, Claret, and Bur- 
gundy, can be supplied upon the terms they are here to be had. 

T 2 



276 



SCENERY HOUND THE ARDENNES. 



rieties of the same plants, as these Jardins du vrai 
plaisir, which would have delighted the heart of 
Delille, as they must of every admirer of the 
beauties of nature, arranged with singular skill and 
science. The view of the town and surrounding 
country from this fine and elevated site, and the 
heights above, presents an interesting coup d'ceil on 
every side ; and on taking leave of the agreeable 
and intelligent proprietor we visited other interesting 
spots in the neighbourhood. Jemeppe, Tilleur, 
Seraing, Huy, Argenteau, Hermalle, Waremme, 
Chaude Fontaine, and excursions to the Ardennes, 
Verviers, and Spa, will afford the traveller, what- 
soever be his tastes — sporting, pictorial, or poetical 
— most delightful days, in no worse company 
than Shakspeare's and his bright fancy's compan- 
ions, old Adam, Jacques, Rosalind, without con- 
sulting any one's pleasure but the poet's, and 
taking for his knight-adventurers' motto, " As you 
like it." The scenery between Liege and Chaude- 
fontaine, and thence to Verviers, which we traversed 
on foot through the fresh and winding valley of 
the Vesdre, continually presenting new and striking 
points of view which awaken the fancy and delight 
the eye, was perfectly enchanting in the season we 
saw it ; and it was no little self-denial that led us to 
decline the sporting expeditions in the forests, and 
on the clear bright rivers, which run for miles 
amidst a variety of rock, wood, and glen, with 
sometimes an old castle frowning from the adjacent 



ENVIRONS OF LIEGE. 



277 



summits — the dark and lonely woods around,— and 
at its feet, some quiet little hamlet in its nook, 
forming a landscape in which nothing was to be 
desired. From Verviers we returned over the wild 
heath and mountain tracts which present the eye 
with some splendid sites — the magnificent scenery 
round the Pavilion of Juslenville ; the romantic 
ruins of Franchimont, the splendid castle of Wegi- 
mont — old Theux — and the pretty Spa in its deli- 
cious salubrious valley, dotting the dark line of the 
old Ardennes, on each of which pleasant volumes, 
descriptive and legendary, might be written. Pity 
we have no more space to dwell on our excursions 
round Verviers and Spa, — the picturesque vale of 
l'Ambleve, its delicious springs and rivers ; its 
waterfalls and fountains, in which no district is so 
rich as the environs of Liege. Malmedy, Stavelot, 
the grand cascade of Coo, the pleasant sites of Cour 
and Roanne, — all which you may safely explore 
with the aid of the small sure-footed steed of the 
Ardennes, astonish you by their mingled beauty 
and magnificence, especially after leaving the flat 
tracts of the north and west, offering a delicious 
contrast to the eye and the mind. In no part has 
nature been more lavish of her natural treasures. 
But the illusion at times presented by the cascade 
surpasses all, not less remarkable in its phenomena 
than the grotto of Fryen, and the hamlet and grotto 
of Remouchamps, with their wild romantic scenery. 
In the sunset of a splendid day, the appearance of 



278 



SINGULAR OCULAR EFFECTS. 



the western mountains, as if disposed in a series of 
different planes, about half obscured by the effect 
of the mirage of the sun, — present the exact 
character of a sea rolling its succession of mighty 
waves; and the mind, if intently viewing them, 
becomes, as in the sands of the east, fascinated and 
troubled by the continued alluring images, — a 
natural sensation, which, as also in moral and 
intellectual pursuits, if not resisted, terminates in 
producing an hallucination, which gradually absorbs 
ideas of the real ; the tendency of which sentiment 
has conducted millions of more imaginative minds 
to their destruction. 

We experienced something of this sentiment on 
entering the splendid grottoes of Freyen and of 
Remouchamps. The strange fanciful forms of the 
stalactites, the variegated colors of the crystalised 
roofs, the booming sound of the waters in their 
mighty caverns, and especially the Hall of Ruins, 
as it is called, formed of huge rocks piled upon 
rocks in a vast vaulted space, fill the mind with 
a confusion of images, and sensations of mingled 
awe and admiration : 

" Ces roches amoncelis, par leur chute fendus, 
L'un sur l'autre, au hazard sont restes suspendus. 
Les ans ont cimente leur bizarre structure 
Et recouvert leurs flancs d'une humide parure." 



CHAPTER XY. 



Return to Liege — Church of St. James — Interior — Description of the 
City— Its Antique Fame and Institutions — Warrior Churchmen — 
Historic Tracts — Retributive Act — Louvain Town Hall — Return 
by Antwerp Festival in Honor of Rubens. 

Our first object on revisiting Liege was to see the 
church of St. James, the interior of which presents a 
combination of the richest and most elegant Gothic 
of different periods, seen under its happiest charac- 
ter and effects. It is the architectural miracle of 
Liege, for to the antique Gothic it adds all the 
ornate and fanciful peculiarities of the Moorish. 
No words can describe the impression made by the 
splendid and spacious nave, at once graceful and 
majestic, which inspires and elevates the soul no 
less than it rivets the eye. The ceiling seems to 
lose itself in space, with its fine-wrought edges 
interlaced with perfect symmetry, and which serve 
to decorate a series of medallions, some of which are 



280 



ST. JAMES— INTERIOR, ETC. 



without covering, and others bearing the casque 
peculiar to the sixteenth century. The edifice 
itself was completed in 1522, and every successive 
abbot or bishop devoted himself to its extension 
and embellishment. The delicacy of the fret-work, 
the traceries, and the buttresses in different parts, 
render it one of the most remarkable and impres- 
sive specimens of interior architecture that is to be 
found not only in Liege, but in the churches of every 
other part of Europe. The ceiling is most grace- 
fully supported by light buttresses, formed from 
the grand spacious windows, and carried out by two 
galleries in ogive arcades, which crown a delicate 
balustrade, the stone of which appears twisted as 
lightly as a rush, and to rest gracefully on the 
points of the arches. In the choir below, little 
vaulted arches, always of the same ornate Gothic, 
a number of chapels, the entrance to which is not 
perceived, except from the church, give to the whole 
coup d'ceil an imposing and yet mysterious air. 
But the main attraction, perhaps, of this splendid 
interior, as it here appears represented in its leading 
features, is the rich and highly harmonious ming- 
ling of the peculiar decorations of different epochs, 
the distinctive marks of which are confounded in 
each other. We thus observed a happy specimen 
of the Arab, with its elegant traceries, in the tower; 
of Gothic and Moorish in the entire edifice ; and 
the frontispiece of the portal, executed after the 
design of Lombart, belongs to the style which 



LIEGE ITS INSTITUTIONS. 



281 



marked the age of the revival of art. The organ 
with its immense side pannels, richly gilt and 
painted on the inside, with portraits of saints and 
angels, is one of the most noble in the world. The 
church contains several statues and paintings, but 
of ordinary merit ; and it is to the elegant rich- 
wrought arches, the festoons, and traceries, that it 
justly owes the celebrity it has acquired. In the 
vacant space between the heads of each arcade, are 
medallion portraits of kings, princes, prophets, &c, 
with their names, and the extracts written in Gothic 
characters from the Scriptures which relate to each. 

The vast richly-decorated ceiling, windows, gal- 
leries, and balcony, which is continued round the 
exterior edifice, with the profuse specimens of art, 
give an imposing effect to the whole, which leaves 
a strong impression on the mind. 

Liege was early distinguished for its republican 
spirit and free institutions, insomuch as to have 
acquired the title of the daughter of Rome ; nor 
was it less noted for its freedom from those religious 
wars and dissensions which devastated other states. 
Its bishops were among the most useful and en- 
lightened of its princes, till the intrigues and vio- 
lence of foreign powers disturbed its admirable 
statutes, and destroyed in part its constitution. Not 
a few, however, among the soldier-bishops of that 
stirring period, were as tyrannical as other gover- 
nors ; and their wars with the princes of the times 
and with each other, produced many instances of 



282 



HISTORICAL TRAITS. 



family feuds, and deadly private revenge. Henri 
de Gueldre, one of these warrior bishops, when the 
guest of the noble family of the Deprez, was guilty 
of an atrocity which, with his other crimes, finally 
brought him to a violent death, and covered his 
name with infamy. Conrard, one of the bravest 
cavaliers of his age, had a daughter celebrated for 
her charms both of mind and person. This power- 
ful ecclesiastic, himself a prince, and courted by 
the nobles, was so fascinated by the exquisite 
beauty of the lovely Bertha, that though he knew 
she was betrothed to her cousin, Thierry Deprez, 
he resolved to risk everything, and even violated 
the laws of hospitality for the gratification of a 
passion which he had too often indulged with im- 
punity. Possessed of immense wealth as well as 
influence, the same night, the evening of which he 
had passed in the society of Thierry Deprez and his 
betrothed, he bribed her two women by immense 
offers and threats combined, to admit him into her 
chamber, and there, in spite of her piercing cries 
and struggles, the echoes of which died away in the 
vaults of the grand donjon, which yet remain, and 
which we visited, he succeeded in his nefarious 
purpose, and consummated a crime which he had 
no sooner committed than he was struck with the 
keenest remorse and terror, like Tarquin, when he 
quitted the couch of his friend and hospitable 
entertainer. The prince bishop, the moment 
light dawned on that disastrous night, appalled 



THE RETRIBUTIVE HAND. 



283 



at the sight of his insensible victim, — flew with 
the presentiment of hell in his heart, and threw 
himself at the foot of the altar of that oratory of 
the family, before which the pure and spotless 
Bertha was to exchange her marriage vows with 
the companion, the lover, and friend of her youthful 
years. 

To describe the scenes which ensued would baffle 
the powers of the most sensitive poet or artist who 
ever swayed the passions of the human breast. 
Imagine what we cannot portray, — the despair and 
speedy death of Bertha, — the horror of her betrothed 
husband, who at the same altar that witnessed the 
terror of the despoiler of the happiness of so many, 
took oath to inflict a fearful revenge. The most re- 
markable part of this fearful drama, consists in its 
being strictly historical, — recorded both in the 
Belgian and in papal annals as matter of unques- 
tioned fact. The family of the Deprez brought their 
bitter complaint regularly before the tribunal of the 
chapter, and the powerful bishop had the audacity 
to appear at the first conclave. Up rose a member 
of the family of Duprez, the archdeacon Thibaut ; 
and in a tone of fervid indignation denounced the 
infamy of the delinquent ; ample proofs of the crime 
were exhibited by him before the assembled diet; at 
the same time he invited every man's hand to smite 
the offender as placed without the pale of human 
society and laws. What was the reply ? The violator 
struck the archdeacon in full assembly, and even 



284 



SIGNAL ACT OF REVENGE. 



kicked him without a hand being raised in his 
defence. # The hands of the Deprez however were 
ready, and the prince bishop was with difficulty 
rescued from their grasp.f It is singular to watch 
the process of retribution on the guilty head. The 
archdeacon went on a mission to Syria. On his way 
he learned that he had been made a cardinal; on his 
return he was elected pope, and assumed the name 
of Gregory X. His first duty he conceived was to 
write a letter to the prince-bishop, — a master-piece 
of keen satire, reproach, and invective, — an earnest 
of what was to come ; for he still felt the hand and 
foot of the bishop though now the father of Chris- 
tendom, — the vicar of Christ, and of St. Peter, with 
the holy keys. It was then the turn of the infamous 
bishop, for the first time in his vicious career, to 
tremble for his life. He was cited before the 
council of Lyons ; he was stripped of his honors ; 
but he assassinated his successor in less than a 
month, and declared war against the Liegeois, who 
to defend their sacred rights and liberties, — one of 
the noblest republican constitutions in Europe, — 
had to contend with more than one Wild Boar of 
the Ardennes.^ But the indignant Thierry De- 
prez, the unhappy lady's kinsman, was not false to 
his vow ; and spared his Holiness all farther 

* Foullon, Book iv. c. \. p. 357- t Bouille, vol. i. p. 295. 

£ William de la Marck and the dukes of Burgundy, with the bishop 
prince of that turbulent age, came under the same denomination. 



LOUVAIN ; TOWN HALL, ETC. 



285 



trouble in bringing this reprobate scandal of the 
holy church to a more slow and ignominious end. 
He met him in the open field in 1284, and put 
him to death with his own hand, while he was in 
the act of attempting another spoliation in the 
old marquisate of Franchimont ; thus ridding the 
church and the world of one of the most irre- 
claimable of villains. 

Connected with the old castle of Chievremont is 
the exploit of another prince bishop, the great 
Notger, who had vainly attempted to gain posses- 
sion of the place by open force. Holding out the 
hand of amity, he proposed to Idriel, its lord, to 
attend in person for the purpose of christening his 
son and heir, — an honor which the castellain, in 
the hope perhaps of entrapping the bishop, — gra- 
ciously accepted. But the bishop was too ingenious 
for him in his treachery. In the midst of the 
ceremony what was the surprise of the noble host 
to hear the lord bishop declare that he took pos- 
session of the castle in the name of the emperor and 
the church of Liege. At the words of " false priest 
and traitor ! " from the indignant lord, the bishop 
and all his retinue threw off their clerical disguises, 
and appeared gleaming in arms — opened the gates 
to their supporters, and commenced the work of 
devastation and blood. The struggle was brief ; 
the garrison was overpowered and put to death, — 
the beautiful Lady Isabel fled wildly from the 
sacred font in the oratory with her infant son in 



286 



RETURN BY ANTWERP. 



her arms, pursued by the ferocious ruffians of the 
bishop ; and to avoid perhaps a worse fate, she 
threw herself with the hope of her noble house, into 
one of the deep wells with which the ground floor 
of the feudal castles were known to be supplied. 
What must have been the despair of the betrayed 
host, — he who had thought to seize and dictate 
terms to the haughty prince bishop, — when he 
beheld the rout and destruction of his vassals ; 
heard the fate of his wife and infant son ; and, the 
last to fly, rushed, pursued by the infuriated 
assailants, to the summit of one of his highest 
towers, from which he flung himself headlong, 
leaving his castle and possessions in the hands of 
the ambitious prelate. 

We retraced our homeward steps by Louvain, 
Brussels, and Antwerp. The Hotel de Ville, with 
a partial view of the cathedral as it is here repre- 
sented, offers one of the finest coup d'ceils that is 
perhaps to be seen of the elaborate Gothic style — 
the most perfect and intact that is to be met with 
in Belgium. Without pretensions to grandeur, it 
rivets the eye by its surpassing elegance, and the 
studied variety, richness, and delicacy of its orna- 
ments. It is an exact specimen of the most 
flourishing epoch of the middle ages, dating its 
origin about 1448, and being completed forty-five 
years subsequently. The town of Louvain spared 
no pains to complete so noble a testimon} 7 of its for- 
mer opulence and architectural taste, when almost 



PROOFS OF TRUE FAME. 



287 



upon the eve of its decline. The elevated roof 
extends the entire length of the facade, flanked 
by towers, the light and spiral forms of which give 
grace and symmetry to the whole edifice, soaring 
to almost twice its height, and striking the eye at 
a great distance. The facade exhibits three rows 
of windows richly elaborated, with every florid 
ornament peculiar to the period, the exterior spaces 
exhibiting a series of small figures, under flowered 
niches, intended to represent histories from the Old 
Testament. Certain portions of the original edifice 
having suffered from the dilapidations of time, re- 
storations have been attempted, executed with con- 
siderable care and caution, yet which are suffi- 
ciently observable to the eye of the practised 
architect and amateur. 

Upon our return to Antwerp we found the public, 
including strangers and persons of every rank, in 
a state of delightful excitement, anticipating the 
grand festival about to be held in commemoration 
of the great painter who shed such lustre upon his 
native city and his country, and whose works we 
have repeatedly mentioned, — the immortal Rubens. 
These rejoicings have since taken place, and we 
are, at the moment we are writing, indebted to the 
pen of a respected correspondent for a description 
of the interesting and animated scene. It is pity we 
have not space to transcribe the whole ; but to be 
fully appreciated it should have been seen, — the 
national and city colors streaming in one immense 



288 



A MODERN CARNIVAL. 



flag from the summit of the grand cathedral, in- 
scribed with no name — but RUBENS. Never had 
they floated over a city of more general jubiJee, — as 
if the sober and business-like Antwerp were suddenly 
transformed into some old Venetian carnival, to honor 
the greatest doge who ever wedded the Adriatic. 
Triumphal arches met you on every side ; not a 
public edifice, street, square, or even private house, 
that bore not some tribute of honor to him who 
raised the intellectual character of his birth-place 
so high in the scale of cities, and the estimation of 
the civilized world. Illuminations and fireworks 
by sea and land ; processions, dissertations, exhi- 
bitions, and repeated vollies from ships and ram- 
parts, emblazoned forth his fame in a style becom- 
ing a free and enthusiastic people, which felt how 
much of its former greatness and celebrity it owed 
to the arts, and to him who ranks amongst the very 
foremost of their noblest and most accomplished 
professors. 



John Haddon, Printer, Castle Street, Finsbury. 



